As most fans of Sailor Moon know, Usagi was not Takeuchi Naoko’s first super-powered schoolgirl. That honor belongs to Aino Minako, who made her debut in Nakayoshi magazine as Sailor Venus, Codename: Sailor V, before Sailor Moon.

And, now that Sailor Moon was given complete, new, “perfect”  editions, it seems only fair that her predecessor get her due as well.

Code Name ha Sailor V Perfect Edition, Volume 1 (コードネームはセーラーV 新装版) is a really good look at the early career of an incredibly talented woman who had one idea that changed the world…but only ever really had one idea.

While it is true that Minako is established as a an academic underachiever right away, she bears two unique qualities from her successor – Minako is ahtletic and an actively dedicated do-gooder. Unlike Usagi, who kind of skips over the petty crime-fighting phase of superherodom, Minako leaves gift-wrapped presents for the police all the time. Which is where the smidgen of Yuri in this series comes in.

Yes, it seems to us that – of all the Senshi – Sailor Venus is likeliest to be pansexual and desired by many, but Nakayoshi is still a children’s magazine. Nonethess,  although Sailor V is publicly derided by the local police, the female police captain is actually a huge Sailor V otaku. As well she should be.

Bad guys are many and varied, such as the pop idol, the pop idol’s younger sister who is a pop idol, the three brothers who are pop idols and the two sister who are pop idols. Puts the Starlights in perspective, doesn’t it? ^_^;

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 5
Characters – 7
Yuri – 1
Service – 1

Overall – 7

It’s always fun to re-read Sailor V and remember the roots of the series that changed my (the) world.

Last spring I was amazingly lucky and while in Tokyo for Rainbow Pride, I was also able to catch the Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary exhibit in Roppongi. Of course many of the coolest items, you couldn’t take pictures of – especially the original art from some of the series’ art books. That was my favorite part of the exhibit.

Well, if you are interested in seeing what exactly was on display at the exhibit, plus a fairly complete list of all the many items that have been released to celebrate the 2oth anniversary of the series, you are in luck! The Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Book (美少女戦士セーラームーン20周年記念BOOK) has all that and more.

Character profiles, episodes,from the original series, albums, interviews, and info about Sailor Moon Crystal and the new musicals, and pages after pages of goods. (We indulged in a spot of “yup, got that, got that…how cool, we have that! Awww, that’s cute, don’t have that….” We’re only human after all. ^_^) A timeline of Sailor Moon‘s popularity and even a few pages on all the many versions of Sailor Moon around the world are included.

With all the interviews, I was a little surprised that there was nothing from Takeuchi Naoko herself. 

With the exception of that one thing, this book is about as complete as a fan could ask for. This fan was pretty pleased.