RG Veda

Hmmmmm, this was not exactly what I was expecting from this anime, I'm not sure what I was expecting but this wasn't it. Taking it with a view of the manga its.... odd. The main premise is the same but Ashura has changed sex and the God King was Lord Ashura. Slight differences which can be explained by less time to tell the story in the OAV's run. Except they don't tell the story, they don't tell any story, maybe a quarter of a story or half a story, but not a full one. It's left with no resolution. Taking it without a view of the mangaand ... well I can see why it didn't get picked up for a whole series. It's a middle section of a story with no start and no end, not even a semi resolution. In my opinion without the plot of the manga to lean upon this OAV flops, and I am so disappointed about that. The characters have been brought to the screen well, I have no qualms there, the music is fitting and the animation is good for its age. One other thing I feel the need to comment on is that the OAV doesn't have the grip on you that the manga has. It's a lot less intense and emotional, I didn't shed a tear watching it and I had been hoping for that, I love CLAMPs ability to tear your heart out but it just wasn't there. That could again have been time constraints but in the manga it doesn't take long for you to love a character and then have him/her killed. I'd say don't watch this if you haven't read the manga, there's not much to be gotten from it (except pretty Soma). If you have read the manga then watch it but with no expectations, it's nice to see the characters on screen but that's about it. Nanashi Moriko *disappointed fangirl* 29/05/07

Imagine if the Star Wars trilogy was redone as a single movie, and the only parts they included were the fight on Jabba's floating barge, and the conversation between Yoda and Obi-wan about the Skywalker family tree. Newcomers would have no idea what was going on, and those familiar with the story would be furious at how it was butchered. If you also randomly turn Luke into a girl, you would have the relationship between this OVA and the source manga. Rg Veda is set in a complex, beautifully drawn, fascinating world. Some of that is translated to the screen. The main charactersare strikingly done, and the main, if not only, enjoyment of watching is seeing them come to life in full color. The nameless soldiers and mooks? Seem to have been done on more of a budget, prompting flashbacks to 80's morning cartoons. I watched this having read only the first five volumes of the manga, as my public library never bothered to obtain the other half of this series. So I can't say how closely the second part of this anime comes to the original, that part must take place in a later volume. As to the first half, it isn't so bad as a 5-minute version of the story, but we're definitely in Cliff'snotes' territory. Also, Ashura's sex change lends a disturbing, Lolita-esque quality to some of her scenes with Lord Yama. Honestly, there are better things to do with an hour and a half.

I was a bit hesitant going into this OVA, as i've been a fan of the RG Veda manga for a long time and i've heard the OVAs were terrible. Once i finally watched them, the first was a pleasant surprise. The second was a letdown. I was prepared for some changes, such as how the staff didn't want to be bothered with the whole "Ashura was born without a gender" thing, so they turned Ashura into a girl. It does simplify matters, and with so little time to work with, simplifying whatever you can can only help. On the other hand, some other changesdidn't make much sense to me. There's nothing especially wrong with the first OVA. It's a straightforward adaption of the "demon of the frozen castle" arc. There were some plot details i was disappointed were cut, but they weren't necessary to the story and i fully understand why they were left out. The story works just as well as it did in volume 4 of the manga. The second OVA is where it falls apart. It combines original material with events from all over the manga, especially the last two volumes. With a lack of proper setup for the ending, it simply couldn't happen the same way it did in the manga. This is where the OVA's simplification started to work against it. Characters' motivations, never what they appear in a CLAMP title, were changed to the surface explanation. Because they were motivated by different things, they behaved differently for the major confrontation, with the result that the ending felt incomplete and, to me, illogical. The animation, on the other hand, was excellent. I feel like this would have been best handled with ten OVAs of this length, one for each volume of the manga. That would have enabled them to show the full story, which i believe was the cause of the problems. If they had time to set up and foreshadow later events, the story told would have been more interesting as well as more complete. It would also make more sense – always a plus in my book. As a companion piece to the manga, it's perfectly alright, although not what manga fans would want. But to watch it on its own, without the manga as a reference point, i doubt it would make much sense. It certainly doesn't tell a full story. I fully admit that i'm biased in favor of RG Veda, which is why on my own list i give it a 6, but really it's more of a 5.

There is not much to say about this awful OVA. The story is just confusing. I dont know about the manga, but in the animated version, they dont care if you was familiar with the original version. They give you ilogical sentences, and spect you to alredy know why that stuff was going on . I could understand nearly nothing. I was patient. I had to rewind several times, and i still dont get the story. I guess im stupid. I dont know, lets just skip this, like i did when i watched. "whatever, lets move on, maybe they wil explain it better later". Well,they didnt. I was lost from the first to the last minute. The art on RG Veda wasant too bad, but also didnt was too good. I give 6/10. The music was so bad! I know it was the style *cof* *cof* of the epoch, but its not good. Not good at all. The efforts to sound good just makes it more pathethic. oh god, the characters. I honestly am without words to describe them. Ok, here si what i got from the characters: A powerful gril with fire powers, a powerful fighter that made a promise with the gril, he must protec her(i think i have seen this somwhere else), a powerful boy, a powerful sorcerer, a guy. And a hell bunch of kings, including a evil one. Also, the male fanservice its damn repulsive. I normaly dislike when there is female fanservice(Im not looking for a hentai, give me content), so i dont have to say i didnt like the bunch of shirtless guys. The development of the characters is lame. I know about the characters the same i know about the plot. I didnt enjoy RG Veda at all. Thats all i have to say. Overall, its a bad OVA.