Code Name wa Sailor V

So essentially, this manga serves as a prequel to the original Sailor Moon series. It features a 13-year-old girl named Minako Aino, your typical schoolgirl who dreams of having a boyfriend and easily defeats weak villains. Personally, I don't think this manga has aged well; the artwork is somewhat off, and for goodness' sake, the author rushed into pairing Aino with a "bad boy" boyfriend, which was just bizarre. Yeah, I'll skip this one and stick with the original series, which isn't so fast-paced. It wasn't a great start before the original series, seriously!.....................

This was simply not a good experience.

I actually put this aside for about a year because I found it incredibly dull. Each chapter follows the same repetitive villain-of-the-week pattern, and it's only in the last two chapters that any real plot development happens. It’s hinted that everything up until now was supposed to be interconnected, but you wouldn’t have guessed unless Artemis explicitly stated it since every chapter feels like a rerun with a different antagonist.
The humor barely qualifies as funny and comes off as forced. Additionally, the progression of the artwork can be quite perplexing. There are too many special effects that obscure entire panels, which makes the "battle" between Ace and Venus particularly confusing. What exactly happened again?

The Sailor V manga was something we could have done without, and I genuinely wish it hadn't been produced. It’s boring beyond belief.

It is possible to acknowledge that a work was influential to a genre, while also recognizing its faults. This is the case with 'Codename: Sailor V', whose existence and success made it possible for 'Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon' to exist — whose role in making both anime and the mahou shoujo subgenre popular all over the world, you are already familiar with.

One day, 13-year-old middle schooler Minako Aino is approached by a talking cat, who introduces himself as Artemis and claims that she has magical powers and has been chosen to fight against mysterious creatures that want to drain the population's energy, which she does by transforming into Sailor V. The basic premise of most mahou shoujo works.

'Codename: Sailor V' (CSV) is, for better or worse, a product of its time. It's not a complex story, the characters aren't deep, the plot progression is clunky, and the jokes aren't that funny. At this point I haven't read BSSM, so these missteps might've been smoothed out later due to Takeuchi gaining more writing experience. But in CSV, most chapters follow a formula: Minako is called out for being lazy, gets interested in something pop-culture related (idol, video game) that turns out to be a monster-of-the-week, deals with it, and all is well until the next chapter. There is almost no suspense because you know what's going to happen, and you could safely skip chapters 4-8 and 11-13 without missing anything of importance to plot or character development; that's roughly half the manga, to give you an idea. The ending itself is also very rushed and poorly done, with the antagonist serving only as a means to unlock Minako's memories as Sailor Venus, instead of being a proper character in his own right.

Some background details are sprinkled in, like a hidden base of operations under the arcade Minako goes to, a "boss" Minako only interacts with through her transformation pen, and Minako's power upgrades and attacks popping up out of nowhere, but they aren't elaborated on and we're left to just...take them in stride and never question why they're there.

There are some moments that legitimately had me questioning what the hell Takeuchi was thinking — not because of some "politically correct" outrage, but because...they just aren't funny. One such moment has Minako calling Artemis a "trans-sexual cat" or a "fag cat" (depending on the translation — probably a translation of "okama neko"?) because he's a male bearing the name of a female goddess. Another is an instance of Boomer Humor: Wife Edition, with Minako's mom calling her husband a "failure" because he's having trouble setting up a TV. Later on, there is a joke about Chinese people eating cats...which is repeated twice because it was so funny the first time.

Minako is a decent lead, in that she's believable as a young teen who just wants to spend her free time gaming and talking about boys; her appearance would have you think she's much older, as the outfits she wears when she transforms show a questionable amount of leg and cleavage for a 13-year-old. Artemis, on the other hand, was relegated to the role of Mom 2.0, more of a nagging nuisance than a mentor and companion; in several eyebrow-raising moments, he's astounded that a 13-year-old girl isn't eager to risk her life for...what exactly? Minako only gets an explanation about the end goal and the bigger picture in the last 5-6 pages of the entire story, yet Artemis expects her to dedicate her life to fighting and have zero other interests. The other characters and the villains don't really distinguish themselves from background decor.

As for the art, well, re-reading this only reminded me why I dislike Naoko Takeuchi's drawings. You can have noses or mouths, but apparently not both at the same time. The feet and ankles are horror material. Artemis's character design flip-flops from manga-ish to cubist. And, sadly, the screentones often get in the way of actually seeing what's happening. That being said, I wouldn't call the character designs bad; they're cute but unfortunately plagued by anatomy issues.

All in all, would I recommend this? Honestly no, unless you're a Takeuchi fan and/or curious about where BSSM got its roots. I found myself struggling through most chapters because anytime something interesting is introduced, it's glossed over in favor of monster-of-the-week plots, rendering the entire story superficial. At the same time, it's meant to be a Girl Power story and succeeds at that, so if that's what you're looking for, it might be an enjoyable read for you.

This manga serves as a prequel to the highly renowned franchise. Initially, it was intended to be a one-shot, but Naoko Takeuchi decided to extend it into what we now know as "Sailor Moon."

But is it any good? Is it truly worth reading to understand Sailor Venus's origins and how she ended up with Artemis?

Well, you won't miss much if you skip it. After all, it was originally supposed to be just a one-shot, and that’s evident.

The battles are quite episodic and formulaic – Minako nearly falls into a villain's trap designed to drain human energy through manipulation, and she defeats them. Artemis tries to motivate her, while Minako acts rather mean towards him and does her best to avoid responsibility. She doesn’t connect with others as well as Usagi would later, but it’s still enjoyable since Minako and Usagi share many similarities.

Both are boy-crazy, have bad grades in school, and have numerous friends, but Minako is more athletic and idol-obsessed than Usagi. By the end, when Minako regains her past memories, she takes her duties seriously and handles things better.

When Artemis first appears and grants Minako the power to become Sailor V, she accepts it without hesitation, although she occasionally mentions that she never explicitly agreed.

There’s a subplot involving the police trying to stop her vigilante activities (although the superintendent general is a huge Sailor V fan and would rather recruit her), but it doesn’t go far beyond occasional mishaps.

In the later chapters, this subplot is set aside, but Sailor V eventually joins part-time, so it worked out in the end.

As for the art, it retains Naoko's unique style, but there are some issues even though it’s an early work:

The character designs look almost identical to the Senshi (who make brief appearances as teasers) and other side characters from "Sailor Moon."

Sometimes, Minako doesn’t even resemble a middle school student (except when in disguise) – she either looks too old or too young, which is jarring.

Scenes can be confusing – serious moments interrupted by chibis make it hard to tell what’s meant to be taken seriously. It’s difficult to follow the narrative between scenes and pages due to the chaotic layout.

The anatomy of the characters is off at times, looking downright weird.

Granted, this is an early work, so hopefully, her skills improved in subsequent manga. However, the numerous side notes can be annoying, sometimes forcing readers to spend extra time ensuring they catch every bit of text. If additional dialogue was necessary, it would have been better used for more exposition on Minako’s situation.

For a prequel, it’s decent. It’s not a must-read, but if you’re curious about Minako’s iconic red ribbon, how she became Sailor V, and want to enjoy some of her adventures, it’s fun. The repetitive fights and "Sailor Moon" character clones might get boring, but if that doesn’t bother you, then sure – give it a read!

Personally, I found it really enjoyable. Naturally, not everyone will share that sentiment since it essentially was just a rough draft of Sailor Moon. However, I believe it holds an important place in Sailor Moon history and is often overlooked when reflecting on the series. I also appreciate how it provides us with a backstory on Minako Aino, also known as Sailor Venus or Sailor V in this manga. She has always been my favorite sailor senshi in the entire franchise. If you're considering reading Sailor V, I say go for it and at least give it a chance. Of course, it's not for everyone, but it's worth exploring.

Reads strikingly similar to a preliminary draft of Sailor Moon, yet it remains an enjoyable experience for enthusiasts of the series or aficionados of classic 90s shoujo manga.

The artwork is quintessential Natsuki Takaya, featuring somewhat inconsistent proportions but retaining a refined and appealing aesthetic. The narrative mirrors the early stages of Sailor Moon quite closely—however, it leans more towards superhero and crime-fighting themes rather than heavy fantasy elements. This offers an intriguing glimpse into Mina's character development, although it’s unmistakable that she served as a prototype for what would eventually become Sailor Moon.

In summary, I found it entertaining, though it's unlikely I'll revisit it anytime soon.

Okay, I have a love/hate relationship with this manga. I finished the first two books and can't find the third one. First of all, the artwork is amazing in all the books; I only didn't like one picture (of Haruhi in a magical girl costume). There are some funny scenes, especially the comedic banter between Artemis and Minako. I loved the ending to Book 1; I read it like ten times over because I just adored the part with the promise rings! As for the storyline, each chapter is basically the same: an evil person steals energy using charm, objects, etc., and Sailor V defeats them in the end. I particularly enjoyed the pet chronicles; whenever I get bitten by mosquitoes, I swear at Chuu-Chuu. In conclusion, it's okay. I give it a seven.