RG Veda, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

~ Clamp (Author), Christine Schilling (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Everything about this novel screams epic: from the vast cast of characters to its stylized battles and multiple settings. Set 300 years ago, the story is about an evil emperor and the two people who are trying to fulfill a prophecy to overturn his cruel reign. It is full of mythology and religion that some readers will not understand, and that also slow its pace. Some of the spiritual concepts are complex enough to make teens reread the book several times to grasp them fully. Readers who want a manga novel with a little more depth will find what they're looking for here.–Scott La Counte, Anaheim Public Library, CA
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Product Description

The breakout manga that put CLAMP on the map!At the dawn of creation, the world was a beautiful and tranquil place. Gods and humans lived peacefully together under the Heavenly Emperor's rule. But Taishakuten, a powerful warlord, rebelled against the King, and a violent, chaotic age began....Three hundred years later, Kuyou, the strongest warrior in the land, hears the prophetic words of a revered stargazer: Six Stars will one day assemble and overthrow this bloody reign. Now, the quest begins to find the Six Stars and fulfill the prophecy before the heavens are torn apart!

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (April 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595324844
• ISBN-13: 978-1595324849
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #786,880 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love at first sight...., May 31, 2005

By	K. J. Romans (Silverdale, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I almost flipped out when I first saw this. Finally! RG Veda was getting translated! I first came across this series when it was still in the original Japanese text. That didn't stop me however from buying it and reading the translations from online. That is how much I loved it.
True it is alot different from the Clamp today. That's because it was one of Clamps first works! So be gentle when reading and reviewing. The art work in my opinion is one of they're best to date. They seem to lack nowadays in the detail department.
The book is about fate. The ever popular theme of Clamp. A baby is found by a King. He is said to be Ashura. The child of a long destroyed clan of warriors. Who is this kid anyways? What does he have to do with the prophecy of a star gazer? And what does Yasha, the king who found Ashura and the rest of the six stars have to do with it? Well lets just say heaven and earth is never going to be the same again!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Well Done Entry in the Clamp Library, April 6, 2005

By	Rob O "destruktolux" (AR United States) - See all my reviews

RG Veda is Clamp's first official outing as a manga series, as touted on the cover. Much of Clamp's older catalog seems to have been passed up in favor of other titles, such as Rayearth or Cardcaptor Sakura that have more direct mainstream appeal. Yet, this volume and the nearly complete run (as of this writing) of Tokyo Babylon show a real intellectualism and variety on the part of Clamp that hasn't shown up as much in their work since they became more encompassed within the mainstream.
RG Veda isn't perfect. It's slow, and very obscure. As near as I can tell, it's only superficially based on concepts from Hindu religion and cosmology, though I'm not nearly that familiar with it all the way through. I expected it to be a very rough book (along the lines of the raw early volumes of Tokyo Babylon) but in fact, this is possibly one of the most technically cultivated and consistant volumes they've ever done that I've seen (with the exception of perhaps Shirahime-Syo). They very seldom rely on interjections of goofy humor and simplified cartoons to emphasize humorous moments as they do in later volumes. For the most part, this book sets out to be as epic as possible.
It's slightly longer than most manga, at nearly 200 full pages, and with the obscure subject you'll at least need to read this twice. This is a must for fans of Clamp, but if you haven't filled out full runs of Tokyo Babylon or Chobits, I would advise starting there, first.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Volume of RG Veda ever!, July 13, 2007

By	Scott Mckay - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: RG Veda Volume 9 (Paperback)

(NOTE: I'm using my dad's account)

Although the earlier volumes of RG Veda bored me to tears and annoyed me a bit- this is the best volume I've read of RG Veda, yet! It's in this volume where we meet the mysterious General Jikokuten (who before had never even shown their face to the other Generals), The Five Stars arrival to Zenmi Castle, the revealing of the Last Star, and the dramatic meeting of Ashura and his traitorous mother, Shashi.

However, this is also where the real tragedy begins in RG Veda- besides the massacre of the Yasha tribe, and the tragic deaths of Gigei, a close friend of Ashura's; Rasetsu, Lord Yasha's brother; and Shara, Rasetsu's kind wife. The most light-hearted of the main characters is killed, and a favorite character with a seemingly kind personality turns out to be the exact opposite as everyone once knew her. (Also she seems to have no problem attempting to battle, and even kill her love, despite the fact that she stated many times in the series how she chouldn't bare for her love to perish).

The mysterious and light-hearted Kujaku is shown his serious side and we finally see one of the many unknown truths about him, and a "similarity" he has with the ruthless God King Taishakuten. It is also during this volume where the sweet and loving Ashura changes forever and is then finally released as the true King of the Ashuras.

The artwork and battle scenes are simply breathtaking and is, which I believe, one of CLAMP's masterpieces- even though RG Veda is not as well known as Cardcaptor Sakura or Chobits. RG Veda should be getting more credit then it is, and the series also shows that CLAMP can do tragedies just as well as they can do light hearted comedies such as Angelic Layer or Magic Knight Rayearth (which also has some tragic elements).

I would not recommed this series for anyone younger than 13 or 14 mainly because of the brutal violence (which happens more often after volume 5).

I've read this volume of RG Veda more then ten times all ready, and I can't get enough of it! I can't wait for volume ten!