Reinako

Reinako is the femslash ship between Rei Hino and Minako Aino from the Sailor Moon fandom.

Canon
REI'S AND MINAKO'S GIRLS SCHOOL BATTLE?

Minako, Rei, Usagi, Ami and Makoto are currently holding study groups to prepare for high school entrance exams. Minako is quite envious of Rei, who goes to a school where she doesn't have to take exams to get into high school. Rei keeps telling her that she still has to take advancement tests, and that All-girls' schools are boring and strict, but Minako refuses to believe it. Rei says if that's the way she feels, she should just come see for herself.

Minako uses her Crescent Compact to acquire a T·A Girl's Academy Uniform. Even though Rei warns her not to be too rambunctious, she gets into trouble and Rei has to apologize for her multiple times. During a volleyball game, Minako runs off to find the ball which had gotten lost in the bushes. She finds an old well, and opening it gets her all dusty and dirty. She takes the ball back to the main school grounds, and overhears Rei talking with her classmates. Minako thinks that Rei is like a total stranger.

Rei sees Minako and laughs a bit that she's all grimy. Minako gets upset that she laughed at her and says she's a vulgar commoner, unlike Rei. Minako tells Rei she hates her and runs away, but notes that she looked just a little sad for an instant. Rei chases after Minako, but then the ghost that Minako uncovered when she opened the well enters her body. Minako reflects that perhaps she overreacted, and is startled when she hears a scream. She sees Rei trying to kiss another student. Sensing a demonic aura, Minako transforms and knocks Rei in the head with her Crescent Boomerang. She makes the ghost come out and introduce itself, but it reenters Rei's body, and Rei then tries to kiss Minako. Minako uses an ofuda and cries out "Evil Spirit Begone", destroying the ghost and rendering Rei unconscious.

Rei wakes up and tells her that if she isn't able to advance to High School, it's Minako's fault. She's also angry that Minako used her signature move without permission. Minako decides she likes Rei just the way she is and teases her about that she tried to kiss Minako.

STARS ARC

After Makoto and Ami's Sailor Crystals were stolen, Rei tells Minako that she'll come with her to Juban High School to investigate Three Lights. Minako lends Rei her school uniform which she notes fits Rei perfectly. According to Minako's info book on Three Lights, they should be going to the rooftop during lunch that day, so Rei and Minako go there to find them. While they're waiting, Rei says she wish she chose to go to Juban High so that she could have spent the rest of her high school days with her friends. Minako asks why she thinks that all of a sudden, so Rei shows her that she drew the "Death" Tarot card that morning. Rei says she feels that the current battle is different. She's about to say that they really won't come home this time, when Minako puts her finger to Rei's lips. She tells her that this time it's no different; they'll complete their mission and return home alive.

Three Lights then appear and call Minako out on lying, that she already has a person that she's sworn to live and die for. Minako turns serious again and says they're right. Rei understands that she's talking about Usagi, and agrees. She says that's why they have no need for menfolk, and asks if they have a problem with that. They say that convinces them that the two are true Sailor Guardians. Rei and Minako transform into Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus and manage to get Three Lights to transform to prove they're Sailor Guardians like them. However, the Lights run away, and Mars and Venus are attacked by Sailor Lead Crow shortly after. Sailor Moon arrives in time to kill her, but Galaxia arrives and steals both of their Sailor Crystals at the same time.

Fanon
The two are often next to each other in lineups of the Sailor Senshi, and are put together when the group is split up. Mars and Venus are the Greek adaptations of Ares and Venus, and in Greek mythology, the two were lovers. Naoko Takeuchi often likes to tie in small references, so their frequent pairing in canon might not just be by chance.

Sailor Mars's element of fire and Sailor Venus's element of love go hand in hand with the theme of burning, passionate love. Their analogous colour scheme (red and orange) and similar hairstyles are viewed as aesthetically pleasing. Many other aspects of their personalities can be considered opposites of the other's, especially in the manga. Rei is very quiet and reserved, with an air of poshness around her. Minako, in comparison, is very loud and carefree and is obsessed with trends and boys, things that Rei does not care about. In the anime, Rei is more extroverted, pop culture-conscious, and interested in boys like Minako.

At the same time, other slopes point to the fact that the only canonical femslash pair among Senshi, Haruka and Michiru are the embodiment of Uranus and Neptune, who in the original mythology were mostly straight father and son, which makes such readings less significant in comparison. In addition, the personal subplots of both characters are based on the idea that a woman may have something more important than a romantic relationship (duty in Minako's case) or that romantic relationships are not the most important goal in a woman's life (In the Rei's case, who is also known for her canon vow of celibacy at the end of the manga). Thus, the idea of ​​this pairing directly contradicts the original message that romance isn't necessary the most important part of a woman's life, which makes some of the audience negatively regard this ship even at the fanon level. Thus, Reinako's main opponents in fandom are not the pairings of girls with other characters, but themselves as a sister Broship with a feminist base.

Reinako is among the most popular Sailor Moon ships. It is also one of the most popular ships for each character together with Reideite and MinaKunzite.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

DEVIANTART

PIXIV
 * minarei tag on Pixiv

Trivia

 * In Episode 45 of the anime, Minako and Rei died back-to-back.
 * Both like the colour red.

Variations

 * Inner Senshi refers to the ship between Rei, Minako, Usagi Tsukino, Ami Mizuno and Makoto Kino.