Ian Andreas Miller.  17 January 2003.

     The three Kdonmu wa Sr V (Code Name Sailor V) books by Naoko Takeuchi tell the story of a girl named Minako who becomes the sailor-suited beautiful soldier Sailor Venus.  A talking cat named Artemis gives her the power to change into her superheroine form.  The story takes place before Usagi becomes Sailor Moon in the Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn manga.  This article introduces several of the important characters from the Kdonmu wa Sr V story.  It also explains the names of those characters.

     The three Kdonmu wa Sr V books comprise several sections that are referred to as volumes.  There are 15 volumes in all.  In the articles that deal mainly with the Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn manga, the term volume refers to an individual book.  In this article, however, that term refers to one of those 15 sections of the Kdonmu wa Sr V manga.  So a volume of the Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn manga is not the same thing as a volume in the Kdonmu wa Sr V manga.  In both cases, however, the Japanese term tankban refers to the individual books.  (There are three individual books for the Kdonmu wa Sr V manga, and there are eighteen individual books for the Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn manga.

     More information about the Kdonmu wa Sr V manga series and the characters can be found at Bunny’s Sailor V ~ Before Awakening Web site, and at Pam’s Crescent Light Web site.

Hikaru Sorano
[ Sorano Hikaru]

     Hikaru is Minako’s friend, and they both go to the same school together.  Hikaru looks rather like Ami, but Hikaru’s personality is more like Minako’s than Ami’s.  She may be the older sister of Gurio Sorano ( Sorano Gurio), who eventually becomes one of Chibi Usa’s classmates.  Hikaru’s surname comprises two kanji: .  The kanji sora means empty, and the kanji no means field.

Gurikazu Amano
[ Amano Gurikazu]

     Amano, the boy with glasses, goes to school with Minako and Hikaru.  People call him Amano (his surname) instead of Gurikazu (his personal name).  He looks rather like Gurio Umino ( Umino Gurio) and Gurio Sorano ( Sorano Gurio).  His surname comprises two kanji: .  The kanji ama means heaven, and the kanji no means field.  His personal name, Guriokazu, derives from guri guri, which means to turn, and kazu kazu, which means many.

Minako’s Papa, Minako’s Mama
[ Minako no Papa, Minako no Mama]

     Minako’s parents appear several times during the Kdonmu wa Sr V series.  They look rather like Usagi’s parents.  Unfortunately, we do not know their personal names.  Their surname is probably Aino.

Takur taku
[ taku Takur]

     In volume two, Minako meets Takur, a man who likes to play video games at the Game Center Crown.  She later learns that he is a pervert.  (He lifts up her skirt and examines her underwear.  She kicks him.)  Takur’s surname comprises the kanji .  The kanji means large, and the kanji taku means house.  His surname sounds like otaku, which means geek or nerd.  The kanji r in his personal name means wandering.

     On a related note, volume two of the series features a video game that shows a young woman who has her arms wrapped in chains.  That video game is named Phelios and the young woman is supposed to be goddess Artemis.  There is an arcade version of the game and a Sega Genesis version.  In the game, the player controls Apollo, who rides the winged horse Pegasus.  Apollo needs to defeate Typhon and rescue his Artemis.  The panel in the Sr V book that shows the Phelios ( Feriosu) game also shows the names Artemis ( Arutemisu) and Typhon ( Dyupon).

Toshio Wakagi and his Older Brother
[ Wakagi Toshio, Ani]

     Toshio Wakagi is a special officer of the Metropolitan Police Office.  Natsuna Sakurada, the superintendent-general, likes to boss poor Toshio around!  In volume seven, we learn that he is twenty-seven years old.  Toshio’s brother, who wears glasses, appears in volume seven.  In that volume, Hibiscusy transform him into Aloha Mask ( Aroha Kamen).  Since he is the older brother of Toshio Wakagi, his surname is probably also Wakagi.  Their surname comprises two kanji: .  The kanji waka means young, and the kanji gi means tree.  It is not easy to figure out the meaning of Toshio’s personal name since it is written in katakana characters: .  However, it is a Japanese name.

Natsuna Sakurada
[ Sakurada Natsuna]

     Natsuna Sakurada, the superintendent-general of the Metropolitan Police ( keishi skan), first appears in volume four.  She does not tell us her name until volume nine.  She is called “KEISHI SOKAN” on page five of the second Sr V book.  (Notice the macron [-] over the H.)  Her surname comprises two kanji: .  The kanji sakura means cherry, and the kanji da means rice field.  My Name Etymologies: Minor Characters article explains why her surname is significant.  Her personal name comprises two kanji: .  The kanji natsu means summer, and the kanji na means vegetable.

Ms. Marie
[ Marie-sensei]

     In volume twelve, Minako meets Ms. Marie, the creator of the hit manga series named Aurora Wedding.  Ms. Marie, who is twenty in the story, has been working on her manga without a break since she was in eighth grade.  She eventually marries Shinr Baishaku.  Marie’s name is Japanese, but since it is written in katakana characters, it is not easy to figure out its meaning.

Shinr Baishaku
[ Baishaku Shinr]

     Ms. Marie’s boss, Shinr Baishaku, begs Minako to be the manga artist’s copy assistant.  He looks like a character from the manga series Aurora Wedding named Swallowtail Mask ( Enbifuku Kamen).  Shinr’s surname comprises two kanji: .  The kanji bai means mediator, and the kanji shaku means to host.  His personal name comprises two kanji: .  The kanji shin means new, and the kanji r means son.

Maiku Otonaru
[ Otonaru Maiku]

     Minako likes Otanaru, the young man with a weak heart who appears in volume fourteen.  Maiku’s name comprises four kanji: oto means sound, naru means to sound, mai means dance, and ku means phrase.  Although the katakana characters serve as furigana characters over the kanji , Maiku’s personal name is Japanese.  Many people say that katakana characters are used exclusively to approximate non-Japanese terms, but that is not true.  Furthermore, the kanji has the reading mai only in Japanese, and the kanji has the reading ku only in Japanese.  The katakana characters maiku (when they are not associated with kanji) are often used to approximate the term mike or the name Mike.

Sait
[ Sait]

     In volume eight, Minako meets Sait, a handsome young man who used to be a student of Ms. Okamoto.  The name Sait can be used as a personal name or as a surname.  That name comprises two kanji: .  The kanji sai means purification (often in a religious sense), and the kanji t refers to a kind of vine named wisteria.  Incidentally, there is a place named Sait-ch, which seems to be in Kyto.

Ms. Okamoto
[ Okamoto-sensei]

     Ms. Okamoto, the attractive home economics teacher, appears in volume eight.  Sait used to be one of her students.  Unfortunately, we do not know Ms. Okamoto’s full name.  The name Okamoto can be used as a surname or a personal name.  That name comprises two kanji: .  The kanji oka means hill, and the kanji moto means origin.  Incidentally, there is a place named Okamoto-ch, which seems to be in Kyto.

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