If you are a fan of zombie horror flicks or even “Resident Evil”, then definitely give “Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire” a try! Don’t expect any deep writing or else you may be disappointed by the story’s campiness. But for those who love zombie-driven manga and “Biohazard/Resident Evil” will want to read this entire five-volume series.
© CAPCOM/Naoki Serizawa 2012. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Vol. 5
STORY AND ART BY: Story by Takaya Kagami, Art by Naoki Serizawa (芹沢直樹)
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Akita Publishing
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC/Shonen Jump Manga
RATED: M for Mature
RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2015
The highly virulent C-virus became a global disaster, but where did the outbreak start? In this prequel to the hit Resident Evil 6 game, the terrifying origins are revealed.
Chris Redfield goes up against the bio-organic weapon, Nanan, using every trick he has to fight against her horrific tentacles and deadly virus gas. The mysterious Hooded Woman appears in the middle of the struggle—what secrets does she know that could change the outcome of this final battle? What is the truth behind the Marhawa Incident? Includes a special epilogue!
The final volume of “Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire” is here and as the entire student body has been compromised due to the virus, Ricky Tozawa and three members of the the B.S.A.A. (Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance) are left to defend themselves from the zombie and monsters. But will they make it alive?
Find out what happens in vol. 5 of Naoki Serizawa’s “Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire”.
What is “Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire” all about?
From Naoki Serizawa, the creator of “Saru Lock” and “Samurai Man” comes “Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire”, a prequel manga series to the video game “Resident Evil 6”.
The series begins in Singapore at Bennett University as Doug Wright (a Professor, Department of Science Engineering) and his nephew Ricky Tozawa (a Science and Engineering Major) are discussing Ricky’s grades.
But Doug receives a letter from Mother Gracia from the Marhawa School and he is shocked to see the letter. He asks Ricky to join him on a three-day project in Asia’s largest and most prestigious school, Marhawa Academy which is in the middle of a jungle.
Immediately, Ricky is greeted by Bindi Bergara, the Student Council President and Alisa Lin, Student Council Vice President of the school. And seeing all the beautiful girls on campus, Ricky feels he may be in heaven.
Meanwhile, as Doug and Ricky meet Mother Gracia, the headmaster of Marhawa Academy, they are taken down an underground room where they see a student who has become zombified by the T-virus.
Immediately, Doug pleads with his friend, Gracia to call the B.S.A.A. (Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance) immediately but she does not want any outside interference. She called on Doug to solve the problem and find out who the source is.
Meanwhile, at some part of the world, the B.S.A.A. are taking on various monsters. Piers Nivans of Alpha Team North American Branch, Chris Redfield – Alpha Team Captain or the North American Branch and Merah Biji of the B.S.A.A. Far East Branch.
As Merah is supposed to report the incident to Professor Doug Wright, since Chris Redfield also knows Doug, the three decided to head off to Singapore to meet up with him.
Meanwhile, back at the home that Doug and Ricky are staying at, while Ricky is sleeping, Alisa Lin sneaks into his bedroom. But when Ricky sees her face, Alisa is now a zombie and bites into Ricky. The security manage to capture Alisa but as for Ricky, Doug is concerned that he may turn into a zombie and pleads with Mother Gracia to contact the B.S.A.A.
Hours later, Ricky surprisingly is not showing any signs of turning into a zombie and Doug feels that perhaps Ricky was not changed by the T-Virus at all.
But knowing that they have no way to call the B.S.A.A., knowing that they have no vehicle to escape the school and the jungle, the two are prisoners who have no choice but to find the source of who is turning students into zombies.
In volume 2, Doug, Ricky and two others are sent to kill the zombies inside the machine room. But the four are to discover that these zombies are different from previous zombies infected by the T-virus.
These zombies are much more vicious and a gunshot to the head is not killing them right away. To make things worse, these zombies can run. But there are also questions of why Ricky, who was bitten (in vol. 1) has shown no signs of turning into a zombie?
In volume 3, Doug and Ricky are under attack by the horrible monstrous version of deceased student Nanan Yoshihara. But who is responsible for making her that way?
Meanwhile, someone has unleashed the T-virus on the students in Marhawa Academy and all hell breaks loose! Will Doug and Ricky survive the day?
In volume 4, the person revealed to have released the virus is Bindi and now being infected, she and Nanan want nothing but to crush the school responsible for Nanan’s death. But as the two wreak havoc on the school and also infecting more of the student body, the number of zombies increase.
But just arriving in the school to save Ricky from the hordes of zombies are Captain Redfield and friends of the B.S.A.A. who realize that the spread of infection and the type of virus released in the school is out of their league and they need help. But will they receive the assistance they need?
In volume 5, as the virus has spread and the students of Marhawa Academy have been turned into zombies or monsters, Ricky, Piers Nivans of Alpha Team North American Branch, Chris Redfield – Alpha Team Captain of the North American Branch and Merah Biji of the B.S.A.A. Far East Branch are now the only survivors. Will they survive the night and find a way to escape the area?
When I read that “Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire” was a prequel to “Resident Evil 6” series, suffice to say, I was interested in seeing how the manga series will connect to the video game.
While the manga series feels like watching a popcorn action/horror zombie flick and the sometimes, bad dialogue reads like a B-movie horror flick, I can’t help but find the manga series entertaining because of my bias of having played “Resident Evil” video games for since the very first video game was released.
With this manga series, we learn that the virus has evolved to something more hideous and more dangerous and the threat of infection and powerful zombies that are nothing like the past, have emerged. With the entire school in grave danger and almost everyone infected, Ricky and the B.S.A.A. must do all they can to fight this new horde of zombies.
So far, the primary connection to the video game series is showing Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans in the manga series as both, along with a character named Merah Biji are featured. And they must do all they can to fight the hoarde of zombies.
But can they survive with the monstrous versions of Nanan and Bindi hunting them down?
As for the manga, Naoki Serizawa is best known for his work on “Saru Lock” (which has been made into a film and a live-action drama series), so it’s very interesting to see him take on a “Biohazard/Resident Evil” storyline. His artwork is quite unique as it is his own style, which features a lot of detail and for the most part, very cool to look at, especially a story geared towards horror.
While the dialogue is not the greatest (as Ricky comes off as a naive and dumb character), the whole premise is quite creepy and the action packed storyline of the survivors trying to make it out alive is fascinating.
With this last volume, it’s almost a picture book because there is less dialogue and more photos to depict the horrendous situation that has set upon Marhawa Academy.
So, the story does have a creepy side but also something for the fans of “Resident Evil 6” and the zombie infestation has begun as the T-Virus has now been unleashed on Marhawa Academy. But this T-Virus is unlike anything that was seen in past zombies. These zombies are harder to kill, the ugly monsters are more powerful and it looks like humanity has no chance!
Included is a final epilogue to help tie-things together, serving as a prequel to the storyline as featured in Chris and Piers’ storyline in “Resident Evil 6”
If you are a fan of zombie horror flicks or even “Resident Evil”, then definitely give “Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire” a try! Don’t expect any deep writing or else you may be disappointed by the story’s campiness. But for those who love zombie-driven manga and “Biohazard/Resident Evil” will want to read this entire five-volume series.