What's the big deal about the manga, you ask? Well, for starters, Mako has some details in the manga that you don't get in the anime. The manga gives you some real insight on Mako-chan, and if you've seen any manga images of her, you'll see that her simple beauty is really brought out through manga art. Now, without further ado, here are some details about Mako-chan's exploits in the manga! Click one of the following links to jump to specific manga details.

mako's introduction

The first time we ever see Mako-chan in the manga is actually at the very end of Act 4, in Volume 1 of the manga. She is only shown briefly, as she is running through the streets in the rain, covering her head with her arm. She says simply, "the coming of a storm..." and that is the end of the Act.

After this very brief introduction to her, we see that Act 5 is her first real appearance where she actually interacts with the other senshi. Act 5 is devoted entirely to telling the story of how Mako-chan comes to Juuban, and how she becomes a Sailor Senshi. We also get a rather small peek into her history before coming to Juuban.

Mako-chan first meets up with Usagi one morning, when Usagi is walking to school. Usagi lets her mind drift, and she ends up almost getting hit by a car! Luckily, Mako was there to carry Usagi out of the car's path, saving her from getting hit. In the Anime, however, Mako saves Usagi by beating up three punks who are harassing Usagi, and never actually saves Usagi from a car at all.

In this first part of the manga, she is rumored around Juuban Junior High School as having superhuman strength, and everyone thinks that she got thrown out of her old school for fighting too much. This is actually NOT true, as Mako tells us later. Another popular belief is that she left her old school because of a broken heart. Although she DOES say that her heart was broken by an older boy that she loved, and it became very hard for her to be at her old school, this WASN'T why she left the old school! In reality, she left her old school by her own will, because she felt a certain higher calling that she needed to follow, something that was much more important than a lost love, and that calling brought her to Juuban.

In the latter part of Act 5, we see a ghost bride enemy, who comes out at night and seduces any hapless males that she comes upon. She enchants Motoki, and then uses him to lure Mako-chan and steal her energy, which seems to be a very apt choice, since Mako is already haunted by Motoki's looks, which remind her of her old senpai. But once the other senshi come and help her see that she's been duped, she proceeds to kick some villain booty.

powers and strength

In the manga, Naoko doesn't beat around the bush at all when it comes to displaying Mako-chan's awesome power and strength, and Mako's first appearance was definitely a doozy! First off, in Act 5, when Mako is tricked by the powers of the Ghost Bride who used Motoki to lure her, she is pretty well fooled. But once the other senshi arrive and snap her out of her trance, she gets very mad, and in her anger, she actually picks up the ghost bride enemy and hoists the enemy over her head single-handedly, and she does this in her human form, before Luna even gives Mako the henshin wand that allows her to become Sailorjupiter.

More proof of Mako-chan's immense strength in comparison with the other Senshi is shown throughout the manga! One instance comes in Act 11 (Volume 3) when Mamoru is under the control of Queen Beryl, and takes the place of Motoki's best friend, Endou. The Dark Kingdom infiltrates the command center below the Sailor V game and the enemies try to steal the Ginzuishou. When Usagi is caught by Queen Beryl, during the skirmish, Venus calls for the stone sword they found on the moon, but when the sword comes to them, Venus finds that she cannot lift it by herself. Then, Jupiter runs by, grabs the stone sword in a single try, and hoists it over her head to cut Usagi loose. It's little things like this that show Mako's extra physical strength in the manga.

Sailorjupiter's strength also shows through her attacks, which are very strong, and well-used. Mako seems to get more opportunities to fight solo in the manga, so her powers really show up with a vengeance in those situations. For instance, in Act 37 (Jupiter Dream), Mako-chan is accosted by Ves-Ves and Palla-Palla in an Herb Shop which is controlled by Hawk's Eye. She is caught within energy ropes, and she collapses. But, after a strange waking dream-like experience, she summons up the strength to break the energy ropes tied around her, and she then takes the offensive with her Oak Evolution attack. The attack not only results in Ves-Ves and Palla-Palla retreating, but it also kills the flying hawk behind them, which is Hawk's Eye in his animal form.

Sailorjupiter also has extra attacks in the manga that are not shown in the anime, and they are VERY powerful. One of them, Flower Hurricane, is an attack comprised of a whirlwind of rose petals. That may not sound like much, but it is actually quite powerful! In Act 5, Mako uses it to attack Nephrite head-on, and she single-handedly kills Nephrite in that encounter with the powers she gains from becoming Sailorjupiter. She also has another attack, Jupiter Coconut Cyclone, which is used later on in the manga, and is somewhat akin to her Oak Evolution attack. She also has an extra henshin phrase, "Jupiter Planet Power, Make Up!" That phrase changes her into an even more powerful form than that seen in the anime: her final and peak form, that of Eternal Sailorjupiter.

character depths

One of Mako-chan's most noticeable characteristics in the manga is her ability to sense other people's feelings, and her skill at listening and giving advice. She is, more often than not, the one that the other senshi come to when they need to talk about their problems. For instance, in Act 37 (Volume 13) Chibi-Usa asks Diana who she should talk with about Helios. She spends a good while listing the faults of the other Inners' listening skills, and then comes to the conclusion that Mako-chan is the one to ask.

Mako-chan shows her intuition and good sense for Chibi-Usa's feelings as well, when they meet later and Chibi-Usa tells Mako that she wants to talk about something. Mako hits the nail right on the head when she says in reply "What is it, what is it? You're getting all serious. Is it some cute boy?"

Later on in Act 37, we hear about Mako-chan's deepest hopes and dreams for the future. Makoto and Chibi-Usa are in Hawk's Eye's herb shop, and Hawk's Eye says that his dream is to someday have small shops like it all over the world. Mako says in reply, "My dream, too... is to someday own a shop. A flower and cake shop." She also thinks to herself later that she wishes to marry early and make a happy home. She also admires qualities within the other senshi, which shows in her hope to become "a pretty woman like Michiru-san," and to be strong like Haruka.

We also learn very quickly about Mako-chan's dream to be a beautiful young bride, in her first appearance, in fact. In Act 5, she can be seen looking at the cursed bridal shop, admiring the bride mannequin in the window and telling her thoughts to her companions. "That balcony mannequin looks like it's going to come down and dance. She's pretty... Brides are so great." She is a little embarassed after saying this, but her bridal fantasy is apparent. Just like in the anime, Mako-chan holds love on a high pedestal, and it is a revered and important thing in her present and her future life.

And, of course, Mako-chan's notorious fear of airplanes, and the whereabouts of her parents are noted in Exam Battle 1. Makoto introduces herself at the beginning of this act, and she does just fine until an airline commercial is shown on TV. When she hears the roaring of the airplane in the commercial, she jumps behind the curtains and confesses her fear of airplanes. Later on, when the other Inners are at her apartment, the airline commercial comes on again, and she jumps behind the curtains, AGAIN. She then apologizes to her friends. She says simply, "I can't stand the sound of planes. When I was little, my parents died in a plane crash."

Mako also holds her friends highly, and treats them well, like a second family. In Exam Battle 1, when her four friends come over, she serves them a tasty meal, and they sit together around the table eating. Mako-chan then says, "and so with all of you around my cooking, we're eating like a family; it makes me so happy."