Yeah, Code Name Sailor V was the original manga (also published in Nakayoshi I believe), and from it Naoko developed the idea for Sailormoon and an expanded team of Sailor Soldiers. And Sailor V was such an awesome character (with such a tragic story) that Naoko pulled her over into the Sailormoon story.

I feel the same way about the dub... I'm watching the series subbed again right now, and the dub is just awful. Not just for the amount of censorship or the bad voices, but the horrid 90's slang they toss around "As if!". Ugh.