October 22nd is Minako Aino/Sailor Venus’s birthday!
So how can you celebrate?
♀ Rewatch or reread your favourite Venus-centric chapter, episode, or musical! She might’ve been the last of the Sailor Team to be introduced, but she was actually the first Sailor Soldier ever - Sailor V. Prominent 90s anime episodes include episode 036, one of the earliest Venus-centric episodes, where she take Usagi out for a haircut to cheer her up; episode 042, where we finally learn of Minako’s (anime-canon) past working in London as Sailor V with her mentor, Katarina; episode 078, where the rest of the Sailor Team falls ill with a mysterious flu and it’s up to Minako to “help” nurse them to health; episode 100, where an old unrequited flame gets Minako rethinking her life goals and considers quitting her duty as a Sailor Soldier; episode 114, where Minako gets a shot at becoming a real idol, but has to compete with the villain Mimete; episode 141, where Minako goes on two dates at the same time and reaps the reward of her own hubris; and episodes 175 and 192, where Minako gets even closer to realising her idol dreams with some industry experience.
Did you know Minako has her very own manga series? In fact, it was written before the Sailor Moon manga even existed! Codename: Sailor V is much shorter, more comedic, and action-oriented than PGSM, and elaborates not only on Minako’s character and role before meeting the other Guardians but also the history of the Silver Millennium and the Dark Kingdom.
If you were disappointed with Minako’s under-utilised role in the 90s anime, now is the perfect time to give the 2003 live-action a shot, where she has a much more prominent and plot-heavy role.
♀ Sailor Venus has several official image songs across different canons you can play for her big day, particularly in the live action, where she is a professional idol:
90s anime: Anata no Yume wo Mita Wa [“I’ve Seen Your Dream”]; Setsunakute Ii [“It’s Fine Even if it Pains Me”]; ROUTE VENUS; Ai no Megami no HOW TO LOVE [”How To Love per the Goddess of Love”] Live Action: C'EST LA VIE ~ Watashi no Naka no Koi Suru Bubun [“C’est la Vie ~ The Loving Side Within Me”]; Katagoshi ni Kinsei [“Venus Over My Shoulder”]; ROMANCE; Kiss!² Bang!² [“Kiss! Kiss! Bang! Bang!”]; Sayonara ~ SWEET DAYS [“Farewell ~ Sweet Days”]; HAPPY TIME, HAPPY LIFE; I’M HERE Crystal: HEART ga Tonjau Sora Dakara [“As It’s the Sky My Heart Soared Through”] Musicals: TRADITIONAL THE GRACE ~Ai no Arashi~ [“Traditional the Grace ~Storm of Love~”]
Her voice actress Rika Fukami also recorded a cover of Shocking Blue’s hit song, Venus, inspired by the Bananarama cover that popularized the song in Japan. The opening bars of their version were also referenced in many of Minako’s official video game themes.
Here’s a playlist of all these songs and other Sailor Venus BGM cues!
♀ Indulge in some of Minako’s favourite foods! Minako is living that carb life, as her faves are ramen, gyoza (potsticker dumplings), and curry rice. Order out or challenge yourself to cooking them from scratch - just don’t include any mushrooms, which are Minako’s least favourite food.
♀ Minako is a very goal-oriented person, even if she’s not always the most focused, and many of her hobbies revolve around her dream of becoming an idol. Topmost, of course, is singing! She’s loved to sing and dance ever since she was a child. Learn a new dance routine - YouTube is a great start - or go clubbing with some friends. Minako is also particularly relevant to karaoke in the live action; why not gather a group and hit a karaoke bar?
Minako’s pride and joy is her long, silky hair, which she takes great care of. If yours is in need of some TLC, treat it to a fancy hair mask, or make your own from simple ingredients. Alternatively, if you’ve been looking for a sign to make a drastic hairstyle change, chop, or colour, this might be that sign, as Minako is a huge advocate for how changing your hairstyle can change your outlook.
She might not seem the type, but Minako has also been shown to enjoy knitting. Maybe she uses these skills to contribute to her massive collection of stuffed toys? Pick up those needles and finish that project you’ve been putting off or learn how to start from some videos or a local meet-up. If you’re an expert, you could even try a Sailor Moon pattern.
Minako is a video game junkie, which makes sense, considering her alter-ego stars in one. She seems particularly fond of racing games, but also side-scrollers and fighting games; why not give a new indie title a try, or play as Minako herself in one of the many retro Sailor Moon games for the Super Nintendo and other systems? (Personally, my favourite is this arcade brawler.)
After being an idol, and (maybe) her duty as a Guardian, Minako’s highest priority is volleyball. She had an incredible talent for the game even before discovering her super-human abilities as Sailor V. Why not hire some equipment for a casual game with some friends on the beach? (Though Minako wouldn’t judge you if you just played virtual volleyball instead.)
♀ Dress like Minako for a day! She had the widest variation in fashion styles amongst the show’s characters, ranging from sporty, to preppy, to “cool”, to girlish, to eccentric high fashion. In colder weather she loved scarves and oversized jackets, but in warmer weather she opted for simple, breezy, minimalist looks. She favoured vests, and shorts/flowy, non-restrictive skirts so she was always ready to leap into action. The consistent element linking her different styles is her tendency to layer, layering jackets over vests over turtlenecks, layering necklaces over sun-dresses over summery blouses, etc.
Her one mainstay accessory was her iconic red hair-bow, though she actually did swap it out to coordinate it with her outfit at times, and it was a pale yellow when she was a Princess.
She started wearing the ribbon to impress a boy, but after he turned out to be a monster - uh, literally - she decided to keep wearing it because she liked it; so if something you used to love wearing has been tainted by a toxic relationship, you can Love and Beauty Shock it into something you wear for yourself. (By the way, before she wore the bow, she used a simple red scrunchie.)
(Manga scan credits: sailormusic.net, MissDream.org)
As Sailor Venus, she started with simple yellow/orange studs that later became red and wore orange flats (often styled as d’orsays) with ankle-straps. Her nail polish was a fresh tangerine, and in her attack Love and Beauty Shock we can see she wears a pale orange/coral/peach lipgloss. Her image colours are orange, yellow, and a navy blue accent.
… And of course, Minako never missed an opportunity to go big or go home; so if you have an over-the-top campy stage costume just lying around…
♀ Match with your BFF twin for the day!
♀ Line up a date. Or two. On the same day. (But don’t complain if you get caught!)
♀ Fav and read some Sailor Venus fanart and fanfic on sites like Pixiv, Twitter, and AO3 - or contribute your own new content! Don’t forget to tag!
Feel free to reply and reblog with your own ideas of how you’re going to celebrate Mina’s day!
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