Code Name: Sailor V

Series experience: I watched the original Sailor Moon anime

Short review: Code Name Sailor V is a fun prequel to the Sailor Moon series, where we get to know Minako (Sailor V) better as her fun self before meeting the other Senshi. The manga is quite similar to Sailor Moon - it's almost a prototype, but it's still an enjoyable read.

Full review:

Warning: review contains spoilers

Sailor V is a short Sailor Moon prequel series, and from the get-go we are introduced to Minako Aino as a ditzy, loud, boy-crazy, and funny heroine. The beginning almost mirrors Usagi's first becoming Sailor Moon as well. Personality-wise they are almost the same, and there are even parallels to Naru-chan and Umino characters. Minako has a crush on Motoki-san too!

Putting all that aside though, Code Name: Sailor V has a separate cast that I would have liked to see in the anime as well. We get some cute origin stories like how Minako decides to always wear a red ribbon in her hair, and how she met Artemis. The monster of the week concept is still alive in this series, but some of the side stories are pretty interesting - one of them is the doomed love story of Sailor Venus and Kunzite in the form of a high school short romance with "Saitou-kun."

One of the important characters is Phantom Ace - he plays something similar to the Tuxedo Mask we know and love, a vigilante hero of sorts, except he is actually Sailor V's enemy. This leads to Sailor V remembering her past as the leader of the Sailor Senshi and why she has the powers and the transformation wand, among other things. All of this is crammed into a short 15 chapters, which makes it a bit bittersweet as we are still getting to know her when the story moves on to the Sailor Moon we know and it becomes mostly an Usagi-Mamoru show.

There's not much that can be done, but I was quite sad to see that Sailor Venus was eternally doomed in terms of romance. It's quite ironic that way, but it also makes her a better fit as the leader of the Senshi.

(Just a quick note, anything of the Sailor Moon series has "old-style" art so it could be a turn off to some readers.)

Overall, it was a quick and enjoyable read, and it's a nice backstory for Minako that touches on both a lot of comedy and a lot of tragedy. Still, I wish we saw more of Minako as a main character instead of just a path to Usagi, and that her story wasn't so crammed this way.

Plot 7/10
Art 7/10
Characters 7.5/10

Overall personal enjoyment 7.5/10

Top 3 fave characters

Minako-this is really centered on her so if you dislike her maybe skip this. Minako here is light-hearted, really quite funny, and adorably klutzy
Saitou-kun- yes it's just one chapter but I really am digging for Senshi x Shitennou crumbs ? the whole doomed love thing is just so sad too
Phantom Ace- I wish we saw more of him (even though he turns out to be a nobody) he was a pretty clever villain

Other: Toshio Wakagi and Natsuna Sakurada

Thank you for reading!