CLAMP - RG Veda Manga

RG Veda is CLAMP's stunning professional debut — a sweeping mythological fantasy epic loosely inspired by the ancient Indian sacred text the Rigveda. Three hundred years before the story begins, the god of thunder Taishakuten betrayed and murdered the Heavenly Emperor, seizing the throne and plunging the celestial realm into an age of tyranny. Now a prophecy stirs: six stars must gather to bring about the usurper's downfall. Yasha, a once-mighty warrior king left without a people to protect, becomes the guardian of the mysterious child Ashura — a being of ambiguous gender and terrifying latent power whose fate is bound to the prophecy, and whose true nature may doom everyone around them.

What makes RG Veda remarkable — especially knowing it's CLAMP's first major work — is the sheer ambition of its world-building and the emotional weight it carries. The series blends the grandeur of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology with CLAMP's characteristically ornate, breathtakingly detailed artwork: enormous battle sequences, divine architecture, and character designs of extraordinary elegance. But beneath the spectacle is a tragedy, quietly building from the very first volume toward one of the most emotionally devastating conclusions in all of shojo manga. Prophecies here are not promises of victory — they are warnings.

A foundational work in CLAMP's catalog and in the broader history of fantasy manga, RG Veda established nearly every hallmark the collective would go on to refine across their career — destined companions, sacrificial love, the corruption of fate — and characters from the series have since appeared in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle as alternate-universe counterparts. Essential reading for any serious CLAMP fan, and a landmark of the shojo fantasy genre. A two-episode OVA adaptation was also released in 1991.

Other Notable Works

CLAMP: Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, X/1999, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Tokyo Babylon   Comparable Peers: X/1999 (Same creator, similar epic tragedy), Magic Knight Rayearth (Same creator, fantasy adventure), Basara (Epic mythological fantasy peer)

Series Details

Japanese Name: 聖伝-RG VEDA- (Seiden: Rigu Vēda)
English Title: RG Veda
Story & Art: CLAMP (Nanase Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi, Satsuki Igarashi)
Original Publisher: Shinshokan (Wings)
English Publisher: TOKYOPOP (Original single volumes) / Dark Horse Manga (Omnibus edition)
Release Years: 1989–1996 (Japan) / 2005–2006 (TOKYOPOP) / 2017–2018 (Dark Horse Omnibus)
Volumes: 10 (Complete) / 3 Omnibus volumes (Dark Horse)
Age Rating: Teen (13+)
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure, Shojo

Comics & manga are assumed VG+ or better unless otherwise noted. No broken spines, no writing, no stickers, and may have light shelf wear. Mid-2000s or earlier manga may have slight yellowing due to the age of the paper. All manga and comics are assumed to be pre-owned.