RG Veda DVD

Three hundred years ago, the god of thunder Taishakuten rebelled against the Heavenly Emperor — killing him, killing the guardian god King Ashura, and seizing the throne with the help of Ashura's treacherous wife Shashi. Under Taishakuten's iron rule, the heavens have since become a place of fear and oppression. But a prophecy made by the blind stargazer Kuyou before her death spoke of a six-pointed star: six warriors, each with the power to move the stars themselves, who would one day rise together and end Taishakuten's reign. Yasha-ō, a great warrior king, has heard the prophecy and gone looking for the first of the six stars. He finds instead a child: Ashura, the young son of the god King Ashura, who was sealed away at birth and has no memory of who or what they are. Yasha takes Ashura under his protection and sets out to gather the remaining five warriors — Ryuoh, young and impetuous; Karura, wise and commanding; Sohma, skilled in battle — while Taishakuten moves his pieces to stop them before the star can ever form.

RG Veda is a two-episode OVA produced by Animate Film in 1991–1992, adapting a middle section of CLAMP's debut manga — their first major work, serialized in Wings magazine from 1989 to 1996, drawing on Vedic and Buddhist mythology for its cosmology and character names. The title is pronounced "Rig Veda," after one of the four Vedas of Hindu scripture. Each episode runs approximately 45 minutes — double the standard OVA episode length — giving the two-part series a runtime closer to a feature film. The OVA adapts only a portion of the ten-volume manga's story, and the series was never continued in animation; the full narrative exists only in the manga. Notably, RG Veda features early depictions of LGBT characters, including several same-sex relationships and the genderless character Ashura — remarkable for a 1989 manga debut.

The North American DVD was released by Central Park Media under the US Manga Corps label on August 14, 2001, with an English dub produced by Mercury Productions and directed by Arlen Tarlofsky. The DVD collects both episodes on a single disc and comes in two cover variants — one with a red cover and one with a gold cover. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Original Manga: CLAMP (Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth, xxxHolic) — their debut work
Studio: Animate Film
Producer: KSS / MOVIC / Sony Music Entertainment Japan

Japanese Cast:
- Kazue Ikura as Ashura
- Show Hayami as Yasha-ō
- Mika Doi as Karura-ō
- Toshiko Fujita as Ryuoh
- Tessho Genda as Taishakuten (Gate Keepers, Z.O.E. Dolores I)
- Ken'yuu Horiuchi as Sohma

English Dub Cast (Mercury Productions / Central Park Media):
- Rachael Lillis as Ashura (Pokémon, Maetel Legend, Night on the Galactic Railroad)
- Crispin Freeman as Yasha-ō (Night on the Galactic Railroad, Haunted Junction, Gestalt)
- Carole Gold as Karura-ō
- Jeff Gimble as Taishakuten

DVD Features

- Art Gallery
- About the RG Veda Verses
- About the Cast
- Japanese Trailer
- DVD-ROM: Art Gallery, Scripts, Cast & Production Credits
- Central Park Media / US Manga Corps Previews
- Note: Two cover variants exist — red cover and gold cover

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: 聖伝 -RG VEDA- (Seiden: Rigu Vēda)
Runtime: ~90 Minutes (Complete OVA, 2 Episodes — each approx. 45 minutes)
Studio: Animate Film
DVD Release Year: 2001 (U.S. Release, August 14 — Central Park Media / US Manga Corps)
Original Release Date (Japan): June 1, 1991 – June 21, 1992
Publisher: Central Park Media (US Manga Corps)
Rating: 13+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Mythology
Themes: Vedic Mythology, Six Star Prophecy, Divine Rebellion, CLAMP Debut Manga, Genderless Protagonist

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.