RG Veda

a.k.a. Holy Scripture RG Veda

a.k.a. Seiden RG Veda

Genre: Action
Company: ANIMATE
Format: 2 OVA
Dates: 1991

Legend speaks of a six-pointed star that will bring order to the world. Each point will manifest as six warriors, and they will destroy an evil tyrant. As it stands, there are five warriors; Ashura, Ryu, Yasha, Sohma and Karura. They are all skilled in battle and ready to give up their lives to defeat Taishakuten, but can they find the sixth warrior to fulfill the prophecy?

summary by Ender

Reviewed: 03/14/2005 by
Grade: 41% 

Highs: Had the potential to be a good story

Lows: No character background or growth; lazy animation; ends before it gets interesting; boring dialogue and plot.

Let’s face it: CLAMP is not exactly the best crew of manga-ka out there. I always found it awkward that it takes four people to achieve the same level of work as Takahashi Rumiko or Nagai Go. And even then, their work is sub-par in comparison. RG Veda, based on their earliest manga series, doesn’t do anything to help their popularity.

This anime was created before CLAMP insisted on making Magic Knight Rayearth and X, so one cannot expect the same level of quality you see in other anime adaptations of their work. Still, this is no excuse for the down-right laziness of the animators. An OVA produced in 1991 has no reason to have animation comparable to most television series made in the mid-’80s. Saint Seiya looks better than this, and that’s saying something.

The animation wasn’t the only thing that cut corners; I think the producers forgot to hire script writers. The audience is tossed straight into the middle of a story, given no introduction as to who these characters are (or why we should care about them), shown a bunch of pointless fights and are expected to go along. And when the characters talk like braindead mimes, you tend to tune them out very fast. Of course, right when the real story begins, it ends. That’s a shame, too, because if I can say one thing, the story could have actually grown into something quite nice.

Maybe with such a huge interest in everything CLAMP nowadays, a production team might pick up RG Veda and realize its worth. But until that day comes, CLAMP fan or not, you’re not helping anyone by watching this.

RG Veda can be downloaded legally in the United States HERE.