RG Veda, Vol. 7

聖伝 ‐RG VEDA‐ #7

by Clamp

Three hundred years ago, a warlord overthrew the Emperor of Heaven and began a cruel and tyrannical reign, but a prophecy foresaw that Six Stars could bring about his downfall, and Yasha is determined to make the prophecy come true.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics Manga, Graphic Novels Manga, Comics, 漫画

200 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

Ōkawa Nanase 大川七瀬
[born: 2 May 1967; Ōsaka, bloodtype: A]

Mokona Apapa もこなあぱぱ
[born: 16 Jun 1968, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]

Nekoi Mick 猫井みっく
[born: 21 Jan 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: O]

Igarashi Satsuki 五十嵐さつき
[born: 8 Feb 1969, Kyōto; bloodtype: A]


CLAMP originally began in 1989 as a twelve-member dōjinshi circle, but by 1990, the circle had diminished from twelve to seven. Of the remaining seven, Tamayo Akiyama, Sei Nanao, and Leeza Sei left the group during the production of the RG Veda manga. Other former members of CLAMP also included Soushi Hishika, O-Kyon, Kazue Nakamori, Yuzuru Inoue and Shinya Ōmi. Currently, there are four members in the group.

In 2004, CLAMP's 15th anniversary as a mangaka group, the members changed their names from Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona Apapa, Mick Nekoi, and Satsuki Igarashi to Ageha Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi (her name is pronounced the same, but written with different characters) respectively. The August 2004 issue of Newtype USA, a magazine specializing in events of the anime and manga subcultures, reported that the members of CLAMP simply wanted to try out new names. In a later interview with Ohkawa, it was revealed that initially Mokona wanted to drop her surname because it sounded too immature for her liking, while Nekoi disliked people commenting that her name was the same as Mick Jagger's. Ohkawa and Igarashi, wanting to go with the flow of Nekoi's and Mokona's name changes, changed their names as well.

In 2006, they made their first USA public debut at Anime Expo in Anaheim, California. They were well received at the convention, with 6,000 fans in attendance at their panel.

Reviews

[MaguiWorld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ay ese finaaaal!! Queda bastante poco para que la historia termine. Tres tomos y aún no se cómo se va a desarrollar.

Tengo miedo que le den un final muy abrupto, siento que eso arruinaría bastante la historia ya que con diez tomos de un aproximado de 200 páginas cada uno se puede ir dándole un final bastante decente.


Veremos qué pasa!

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for complete series


Taishakuten has murdered the Heavenly Emperor and conquered his throne. The once peaceful kingdom falls into a long period of tyranny where rebellion against the new Heavenly Emperor means the destruction of whole tribes. The legendary Ashura tribe was the first to fall, yet the young Prince survived and prophecy has it that he will gather the six stars who will be the downfall of Taishakuten.

Although RG Veda isn't CLAMP's first work, it is their debut manga. It is loosely based on the Veda Hindu scripts, but as I am not very familiar with those, I really can't say how much freedom CLAMP allowed themselves with this one.

RG Veda is not an easy manga to get into, and definitely not one I would recommend to someone who is new to reading manga. It has a very slow start with a lot of information getting thrown at you. This also leads to a somewhat rocky flow of the story. That being said, once getting through the first volumes, it turns into an emotional and complex story.

There are many characters involved and even though the length of this series doesn't allow us to know all characters in great detail, it is still very easy to feel their pain. What little we know of them looks very real and as the story progresses, one can find that there are many grey characters - even the most villainous ones have their good sides and there are many surprising twists towards the end. There is certainly a lot of drama and suffering in this one, despite the occasional comic relief, you really might not want to start loving these characters too much, CLAMP started early with killing off their characters.

Also typical for CLAMP is the stunning artwork and ambiguous relationships between characters. Although several of the male characters are a little too bulky for my liking, there's not much left to be desired when it comes to the intricate clothing, backgrounds, hair, weapons and general page layout.

Although he is clearly named as Prince Ashura, our young hero is said to be genderless and has fooled several potential readers, myself included, into thinking him to be a female. I've never felt comfortable with people romanticising his relationship with the god of war Yasha - yes, the two of them are very close, but I can't see it as anything other than a father-son kind of bond. However, there are other queer characters along the way and some of them really come around with a twist that I don't think many people would see coming.

So despite the slow start, this is a wonderful tale of gods, humans, age-long wars and family and love. For all who struggle with getting into this, give it another chance, the second half may very well prove worthy of your time and surprise you in ways you did not see coming.

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the most beautiful panels ever of Lord Ashura, Yasha, Kendappa, and Sohma were in this volume. Queen Shashi reveals more of her ambition, her motivations for betraying the Ashura. Koumakuten continues to send soliders after Yasha, Ashura, and their companions. Kendappa continues to be enimgatic about exactly what she’s up to. Speaking of enigmatic, Kujaku continues to be embody enigma, leaving everyone in his wake wondering. A tragedy appeared to have haunted the former Lord Ashura, a tragedy which threatened his child’s destiny. What is it about Taishakuten’s determination to change the pattern of the stars to get what he wants? What is Taishakuten willing to defy destiny for? These questions are more powerful than the battles, the hunt for the rebels, and the less complex ambitions of Shashi and characters like her. The beautiful stranger Yasha and Ashura encountered exposes her identity bit by bit, hinting at a fate as sad as her husband’s awaiting her. Will the arrival of Lady Karura change everyone’s fate? Is it possible to change destiny? Tragedy seems inevitable unless the characters can somehow defy the stars. Even that may bring tragedy. In spite of impending doom, this remains a beautiful journey. Powerful, intense, punctuated every once in a while with brightness, even if the characters’s path leads them to their doom.

[Kyla Sixkiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning visuals grace this volume, particularly panels featuring Ashura, Yasha, Kendappa, and Sohma. Queen Shashi's ambition and betrayal of Ashura are laid bare, while Koumakuten's relentless pursuit of the rebels continues. Kendappa remains shrouded in mystery, mirroring the enigmatic Kujaku who keeps everyone guessing about his true motives. A shadow of tragedy hangs over the former Lord Ashura, threatening his child’s destiny. These existential questions surrounding Taishakuten's defiance of fate and the characters' struggle against a predetermined future hold greater intrigue than the battles and simpler ambitions of antagonists. The beautiful stranger's gradual reveal hints at a fate as tragic as her husband's, while the arrival of Lady Karura promises to further disrupt the precarious balance. Can destiny be defied, or are the characters destined for tragedy regardless? Despite the looming darkness, this breathtaking journey remains powerful and captivating, punctuated by moments of hope.

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Empiezan muchas conexiones, el esposo que la mujer espera... y la historia que ya leìmos un tomo antes.

La acciòn, menos espadas y màs enfoque a los elementos de cada uno. Los flashback a la època de "paz" y un genial paralelismo a por què comenzò la guerra. Aun no se dice, pero se menciona que por proteger a unos destruirìas el universo... ¿suena a algo? ¿Como a Yuko y Fei Wang? Ufff, asombroso.

Todo en la ùltima parte de la historia, que aquì como que sì me gustò cañòn el arte. Queda muy padre la idea entre Vampire Hunter D, los caballeros del zodiaco y fantasìa como señor de los anillos y Dragonlance.

Ya solo falta un dragòn, y quiero ver còmo serà la pelea contra los 3 generales.

[Robiok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cried 😭✌🏻

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clamp kejemnya emang nggak kira-kira. Setelah nasib buruk yang menimpa Rasetsu di akhir volume sebelumnya, di volume ini kita dipertemukan dengan istrinya, Shara. Haaaaaah!!!

[Freya Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much! I love the book and it's in great shape. Great price!