Minako Aino

Sailor Venus
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon and Codename: Sailor V character
Minako in her Super Sailor Venus form as seen in the original anime.
First appearance	Codename: Sailor V chapter #1: "Sailor V is Born!" (1991)
Created by	Naoko Takeuchi
Portrayed by	See Actresses
Profile
Aliases	Minako Aino Sailor V Princess Venus Princess Sailor Venus (PGSM)
Nationality	British-Japanese (original anime)
Affiliations	Sailor Soldiers Shadow Galactica (manga)
Powers and abilities	Photokinesis, chain and sword combat
English adaptation
Name	Mina Aino

Minako Aino (愛野 美奈子^?, Aino Minako), better known as Sailor Venus (セーラーヴィーナス^?, Sērā Vīnasu), is a fictional character in the Sailor Moon manga series written by Naoko Takeuchi. Minako is her sailor form's alternative human identity as part of the Sailor Soldiers, female supernatural fighters who protect the Solar System from evil.

Minako is the fourth Sailor Soldier to be discovered by Usagi Tsukino, although she was the first Soldier to awaken her powers. She possesses powers associated with love and beauty, light, and golden material metal. In the manga and anime series, she dreams of becoming a famous idol, but in the live-action series, her character is already a well-known celebrity.

Minako is introduced as the protagonist of Naoko Takeuchi's much-shorter manga series, Codename: Sailor V, the prequel to Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. In it (and the early part of Sailor Moon), she goes by the pseudonym Sailor V (セーラーＶ^?, Sērā V), short for "Venus", and is given personal backstory. The plot lines of Sailor V are generally compatible with the latter series, but are usually considered separate. Later, she co-stars with Rei Hino in a special short story titled Rei and Minako's Girls School Battle.