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Title (English) RG Veda
Title (Japanese) RG Veda
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book cover

Fantasy Novel

Notes From the manga by CLAMP, published in Wings magazine.
2 OVAs (Japan), 1 vol elsewhere.
Should be pronounced "Rig Veda".
UK edn: RG VEDA (Manga Video), 78 mins, cert PG, £12.99
Classification shoujo
Synopsis Action packed fantasy story mixed with Hindu mythology and magic, about a powerful young prince/princess named Ashura and his/her companions as they try to reclaim the throne (Young Ashura has yet to develop a sex). (KEM)

Caught in the midst of a war between the armies of
demigods Taishakuten and Tentei are four companions,
Yasha, who wields the devastating Yama Sword, Ashura,
a little girl with mystical powers, Karuma, a lady who can
magically summon Garuda the war bird, and Ryu, a war-
like young boy who wields an oversize sword which
creates serpents whenever near water.

Review An epic fantasy, in the Dungeons and Dragons vein.
There is a fair amount of plot and fantastic combats.
This little-known anime is another discovery by Manga Video. RG VEDA is a high-fantasy swords & sorcery adventure where most of the characters possess magical powers. The title refers to the Indian Rig- Veda, but which mythological characters (if any) the anime characters represent is unclear. (See "The Anime Encyclopedia"). Five heroes are set against the victorious general Taishakuten, who has conquered the Earth. They can only defeat Taishakuten if they find a sixth warrior and unite to form a shimmering star. Yasha, the tall male warrior, and Ashura, the devastatingly cute small princess, get most of the action. The storyline starts with an ambush in a pre-credit sequence, and goes on with danger, magical battles and narrow escapes. It drags in a fair number of rather emotional plot tokens: true friendship, an abandoned girl, a child hated by her mother, and some wonderful conceits, such as the flock of malign but beautiful butterflies. The magic is quite spectaclar, the backgrounds are pretty, the character designs are good and there are some quite lovely looking scenes. The background music is good too.
This video was made by an all-woman collective, CLAMP, and a female outlook can be discerned in it: more style and feeling, less blood. On a first viewing, the video has quite an emotional impact. True the plot is a bit corny, the dialogue is sometimes a bit dumb, and delivered in a rather wooden manner, but it doesn't really matter. Those scenes work, and it just looks so wonderful.
I should warn prospective buyers that the end of the video is NOT the end of the story: it ends abruptly with nothing resolved. Altogether one has the impression that this is part of a longer work, and that some prior knowledge was expected. There was a Japanese original comic, which Japanese viewers would have read.
If you have any liking for magical fantasy, go forth and buy RG VEDA. At least, you'll have trouble finding anything else as pretty for £12.99. (GC)

Good soundtrack, but the anime is not as good as the manga. (HBV) Rating ***

Credits Dir: Hiroyuki Ebata, Takamasa Ikegami
Des: Mokono Apapa
Scr: Nanase Okawa.
Episodes 2
Release UK:VHS, US:DVD, Jap:VHS, Jap:LD
TV Showing See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.
Date 1991
Production Animate Film
Broadcaster
Animation Tetsuro Aoki
References & Help Look up the latest data on this title at:
Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or
Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) ,
or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001).
Help & further information.

 

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