Here goes Hecate...
Minako Aino is the heroine of the 3 volume Code Name Sailor
V series by Naoko Takeuchi. She is a year younger than
in Sailor Moon, but is still essentially the same character.
Minako is buoyant, gleeful, and just generally a fun girl.
She suffers from raging hormones (which that rat bastard
Ace efficiently takes care of. Grrr...), and excells at
sports.
One day, however, she meets Artemis, a talking cat. He
tells her of her past in the Silver Millenium, yadda yadda
yadda. He then gives her the power to transform into the
Pretty Soldier Sailor Venus, fondly known as Sailor V.
The major difference in Minako's character in this series
as opposed to Sailor Moon is that she is much more carefree.
She lacks the tragic qualities that she has in Sailor Moon,
for reasons explained at the end of this series. She doesn't
get along with her parents, but this doesn't seem to
bother her. This casual gaity is lost by the end, and
no matter how hard she tries, she cannot get it back.
One could almost draw a parallel between Minako and CLAMP'S
Subaru Sumeragi. Like Minako, Subaru is a much gentler
person in the first series in which he appears (Tokyo
Babylon). His change, however, is much more drastic. Both
he and Minako do lose a certain innocence, but there my
brilliant theory ends. Subaru lets his tradgey kill his
soul, while Minako never loses the hope that made her
such a wonderful person in the first place.
It is a testament to her inner strength.
Mene's Opinion
Mene would like to add to Hecate theory, or possibly shoot it down. I would agree that Minako is a stronger character, but I think using this parallel as an example is wrong. While it is hard to lose the abilty to love someone and be loved by them for eternity, it is much worse to lose one's twin sister. They are both survivors, and Minako's less traumatic circumstances make it easier for her to cope. I do however think that Minako is more savey than Subaru, she exhibits an understanding that things are not always what they seem and I think her understanding of this is what makes her the stronger character.