Minako
Now these two, when they get together, are absolutely scary! I once read somewhere that, since Naoko Takeuchi made Usagi as the person she is most like, then Minako must be the person she wants to be. Perhaps this is true; perhaps not. Many people probably never take this into mind because they don't see the connection in the manga between Usagi and Minako. I kind of agree with it though; it does make a good lot of sense.
Just how alike are these two? Well, for one thing, they are both blondes. If we go a little deeper than that, we can come up with ditzy, clumsy, boy crazy, lazy, long winded in speeches . . . And yet what is the logic behind these two being so identical?
First of all, let's dig a bit back into their histories. Okay, let's really dig back into their histories, aaaaaaaallll the way back to the Silver Millennium.
Now if my memory should serve me correct here, the four inner senshi were the Princess Serenity's guardians. Sailorvenus was said to be the closest of all. Rumor had it that Serenity shared the secrets of her love of Prince Endymion to her. When Serenity would sneak out to see her love, Sailorvenus would disguise herself as the princess so that the others wouldn't know what was going on, seeing as how there was a ruckus going on between the Moon Kingdom and the Earth Kingdom.
Whether it was rumor or not, Minako, in the manga, had disguised herself as the Moon Princess in the beginning to distract her enemy from the true identity; this was obvious from her answering that yes, she was the Princess the other senshi were seeking, and she did have a crescent moon on her forehead. Minako did disguise herself as Sailormoon once in the anime to protect the real Sailormoon, when Kaolonite had captured Usagi and had the locket under control, demanding to know if she (Usagi) was Sailormoon. Thanks to some quick planning on the senshi's parts, Sailorvenus did her hair up in odangos, and became (dah dah dah dah!!!) "SAILORMOON!" This of course upset the real one, especially when Kaolonite demanded to know exactly who Usagi was and Sailorvenus replies, "Beats me, I guess she must be a fan of mine."
As much as these two are alike, there are differences between them. For one thing, Usagi is much more mature than Minako is most of the time, and is less spontaneous in her moods and temperaments. But these two not only have an uncommon resemblance in both personality and body, but they also carry a very strong bond of friendship.
While it's true that neither the manga nor the anime give much as to their friendship, sometimes you have to look between the lines. A hint here, a smile there. They look out for each other, they care for each other, they trust each other. They don't have many bonding moments in the show together. I do believe that this is because they are so much alike, they don't feel they need to. A special relationship is based more on trust than it is on love, because it's very difficult to love and not resent someone you don't trust. Actually, I'm quoting Cupid here when I say, "There can be no love without trust." These two don't need the bonding and/or special moments they have that lay between them and the others, because they already feel a basis of trust and understanding between each other.
Indeed, these two are almost too alike. They react pretty much the same way, causing the same words and facial expressions to form. There are other times when one is just feeling goofy and causes the other to become nearly as hyper and a certain follow-the-leader game is played, with tag thrown in for the leader status. This was in evidence during the episode where Usagi and Minako insisted upon trailing Haruka around in one of the earlier episodes of the S season, having a crush on "him". Minako would say or do something, and Usagi was like a shadow, attached and echoing the same reaction. It was a cute and silly episode, and it showed how deep of a bond these two shared.
Because that they acted the same towards each other, they don't need any assurance to be friends. The bond is there; they know it; and since the trust has already been established, then there is no need to strengthen it. This is the friendship they have in the anime. Sadly, that is not the way it is in the manga. Minako views Usagi as the Princess, and as herself being the guardian, there must be a line between them. As stated somewhere in this shrine before, Usagi had more of an aloof nature in the manga, keeping more to herself then the anime Usagi did. But trust lies there, as only a trust between people have it. It's a trust that doesn't need assurance, and that is the greatest trust of all.