As in the other series, she eventually discards the guise of Sailor V in favor of her true form, Sailor Venus; nevertheless, she becomes only slightly involved with the others, and frequently expresses disapproval of their effectiveness as Guardians. She is frustrated by their lack of focus, and distances herself both for that reason and because, as revealed later, she has a terminal illness and does not want them to become close to her and then be saddened by her probable death. When the other Guardians learn that Minako and Sailor V are the same person, they hide it from the irresponsible Usagi for some time. The character Minako is closest to being friends with is Rei Hino, with whom she has a conflicted relationship. Rei is supposed to be the secondary leader, but she is initially both less skilled than Minako and resentful of her advice. Although they often disagree and compete, they develop great respect for each other, to the point where Minako sometimes lets her guard down, and eventually confides to Rei about both her illness and what she feels is her destiny as a Sailor Soldier. In terms of personality, the live-action Minako is deeply solemn and rarely smiles. Besides the complications from her unnamed illness (the doctors in one episode give her six months to live), her obsession with the collective past life makes her feel detached from the world, thinking of her current life as less important. However, she does seem to genuinely love singing, and shows a small mischievous side, especially in her relationship with Artemis. As in the manga, she serves as a decoy Moon Princess for part of the series. She seems to be aware of her true position, often endangering herself to protect the real princess, Sailor Moon. In a twist, Usagi serves as a decoy Minako, chasing away a group of autograph hounds. She does this because she figures Minako needed to be away from the trappings of stardom for a while. Minako is touched by this and cares about Usagi as a friend to the point of trying to protect her from Mio(whom she suspected is working with the Dark Kingdom to hurt Usagi). Near the end of the series, it is revealed that there is a surgery which might either correct Minako's condition or kill her early. She refuses to undergo the procedure, preferring to last as long as she can without it, but the other girls convince her to take any chance at life she can get. She is shown leaving for the hospital, and later that day, Artemis arrives at Rei's temple to tell the girls that Minako has died.