RG Veda

RG Veda is a 10-volume manga series by CLAMP, notable for being their debut work, and named after the ancient Hindu hymn collection the Rigveda. The series borrows elements of Hindu and Buddhist mythology for its setting and characters.

300 years ago, the general Taishakuten rebelled against the Heavenly Emperor, killing both him and the guardian god Ashura-ou and installing himself as the king. The Ashura clan was thought to be destroyed until the god Yasha-ou found the remaining child sealed in a forest and began to gather the Six Stars, a group of individuals said to be the prophecied bringers of a celestial revolution.

Included one non-serial OVA. Several characters from RG Veda have made appearance in other CLAMP works, mostly in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle as alternate universe counterparts.

Note: Ashura is technically without a physical sex, but will be referred to by male pronouns in this article for simplicity's sake.


 * Ancestral Weapon: The Shura sword, Ryuuga sword, Yama sword... each tribe seems to have its own.
 * Badass and Child Duo: Yasha and Ashura.
 * Because Destiny Says So
 * Big No: A few. For example,.
 * Bittersweet Ending:.
 * Bodyguard Crush: Sohma to Kendappa, reciprocated.
 * Brother-Sister Incest: With as the product.
 * Calling Your Attacks
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Kujaku, who shows up out of nowhere near the beginning and becomes very important later on.
 * The Chessmaster:
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Shashi.
 * The Cutie: Ryu-o
 * Clothing Damage: when  is stabbed through the chest and dragged around while bleeding to death, her top barely covers her breasts. The situation makes it rather unappealing, and the fact that the manga is supposed to be aimed for girls makes it even more disconcerting. Well, Mokona has never tried to hide how much she enjoys drawing half-naked ladies.
 * Dead Little Sister: Karura has one as her primary motivation.
 * Doomed Hometown: The Yasha tribe's village
 * Does Not Like Shoes / Foot Focus: Absolutely EVERYONE is barefoot in this series. No matter when or where.
 * Enemy Within:  though it acts as more of a Super-Powered Evil Side in the OVA and the earlier parts of the manga.
 * Eyes of Gold: Ashura, as a distinguishing trait of his people, along with Unusual Ears. Kujaku has purple eyes, which the other characters take to be a trait of demonic heritage.
 * Evil Matriarch: Shashi, who's probably the closest thing to a total bitch that CLAMP's ever written.
 * Faking the Dead: Karura
 * Four Is Death: Taishakuten's Four Generals.
 * Gender Bender: Ashura, who was cursed to be of neither gender so the clan would die with him.
 * Go Out with a Smile
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Several, including and  and finally,
 * Honorifics: Several characters are referred to as "-ou" (literally, "King") to designate their importance as the leader of their clan. The English manga uses "Lord" and "Lady" in place of these.
 * The Spanish manga went with "King" and "Queen". And yes,  is always referred to as King Dragon/King Ryuu.
 * Homoerotic Subtext: Besides the (canon) relationship between Yasha and Ashura, the relationship is just dripping with subtext. Two words: Hair stroking. Also Kendappa and Souma, which crosses the line from subtext and keeps going.
 * "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight
 * Ill Girl: Karyoubinga
 * I'm a Humanitarian
 * Is That Cute Kid Yours: No, Yasha isn't Ashura's father, but that seems to be the automatic assumption on meeting the two of them.
 * It's All My Fault
 * Keet: Ryu is a a softer version of this. Since the series is dark though however, his happy personality stands out.
 * Kill'Em All: The number of characters who survive until the end?
 * Kill the Cutie:
 * Lady of War: Karura, and
 * Last of His Kind: Ashura is the last of his clan, Souma is the only survivor of her ninja clan, and Yasha ends up as the last member of his clan after they are slaughtered early on.
 * The Messiah: Ashura and Ryu.
 * Mini-Dress of Power: Sohma.
 * The Mole:
 * Mood Whiplash: The Lighter and Softer Omakes (including the ones with CLAMP in them) seriously contrast against the dark, violent tone of the story. Also happens in-story with Lord Ryuu's and Kujaku's moments of comedy.
 * Mysterious Informant: Kujaku
 * Ninja: Sohma.
 * No Biological Sex: Ashura, as the result of a curse that will keep the Ashura clan from continuing.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity:.
 * Perpetual Molt
 * Person of Mass Destruction: The Ashura clan were essentially just this.
 * The Plan:
 * Batman Gambit
 * The Promise: Used between Yasha and Ashura, Yasha and Ashura-ou, and, among others.
 * Pronoun Trouble: Talking about Ashura is difficult since the English language lacks a good gender-neutral pronoun.
 * Prophecy Twist: The Six Stars
 * The Quiet One: Yasha.
 * Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Four Gods of the West
 * Rage Against the Heavens: Twice.
 * Rapunzel Hair: Most characters (even the men) have this.
 * Rip Van Winkle: Twice over.
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something
 * Sacrificial Lamb:
 * Scary Impractical Armor often complete with
 * Shoulders of Doom and
 * Spikes of Villainy: a good example of these three tropes is the armor.
 * Schoolgirl Lesbians: Kendappa and Souma, while not actually schoolgirls, otherwise fit this trope.
 * Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:
 * Silk Hiding Steel: Kendappa is a beautiful, graceful noble lady
 * Social Darwinist:
 * Together in Death:
 * This actually goes for.
 * Shoot the Dog:
 * The Stoic: Yasha and Karura.
 * Too Long; Didn't Dub: In the English dub of the OVA, Ashura is referred to as "Princess", since they decided to simply leave out the genderless bit completely.
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You:
 * Unwitting Pawn:
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist:
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: While Karura does have white hair, her sister Karyoubinga is a better example.
 * Winged Humanoid