TOKYO -- There are two sides to Kae Yanagisawa. On weekdays, she is a soft-spoken hairdresser at nursing homes. But come the weekend, the introverted 21-year-old transforms into Sailor Venus, an evil-fighting superhero kitted out in an orange miniskirt, blue contact lenses and blond wig. Each colorful accouterment becomes a layer of armor, and in the full ensemble she feels as bulletproof as the manga character she resembles.
"With my costume on, I'm a whole new person," the usually camera-shy Yanagisawa said while posing for fans at a recent event. "I'm not shy anymore."
