Manga and Anime

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Vol. 5 Review

July 20, 2015

The final volume in this Resident Evil 6 prequel manga series arrives this week and I couldn’t be more interested in how it wraps things up.

The story started out innocently enough at an all girls school, but has quickly turned into a soldiers vs. monsters affair. It has had a lot of the elements that make these games so popular, but does the ending stack up?

Resident Evil, Vol. 5: The Marhawa Desire (Viz Media)

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If you haven’t read the previous volumes give our reviews a look to get a handle on what has happened so far. I for one have enjoyed this series well enough, even though it’s a bit weak at times and tends to drag things out to keep the dramatic moments timed for concluding chapters. This series has obviously been printed in a magazine of some sort as each volume has multiple chapters which usually follow a general formula to ensure we open on a cliffhanger, stuff happens, then we end on a cliffhanger.

Its important to note I’ve played a few of the Resident Evil games, but am by no means the most die-hard fan. That being said, I do like a good story — especially when the art is this damn good. The story, especially in this volume, feels very drawn out. That said, what exactly happens?

The story starts out simply enough with Chris Redfield, Piers Nivens and Merha Biji taking on a mutated zombie. Think Resident Evil final boss and you’ve got a good idea of what it’s like; this beasty has no less than nine tentacles and every inch of it is covered in gross looking eyeballs. The beast is also an ex student of the school who was changed into the creature she is now by a mysterious rain coat wearing woman… a woman who can turn people into zombies via some kind of gas. To make things even more serious the zombies in this manga are the fast running kind. This entire volume is one long escape as the soldiers noted above and Ricky Tozawa, this series’ main protagonist, have done all they can to stop the infection and save any survivors. Read: Nobody gets out and it was a total failure.

Through this volume they fight not one but two monsters, someone dies, and things are all wrapped up in a bow of sorts. Ultimately this series was a prequel intending to deliver more of the same from the game and not reveal any secrets. Along the way the story effectively created two new characters in Ricky and Merah who both get fitting ends here. Some might say the epilogue is a bit too cute, but I thought it made sense of the characters involved and tied into the main game too.

The art once again kicks ass, with some fantastic monster drawings in this volume. Naoki Serizawa does some nasty stuff with the second monster in this volume and damn if it’s not the most disgusting monster I’ve ever seen. Somebody needs to mimic this beast and put it in a movie, it’s that disturbing of a thing. Serizawa also does a fantastic job with the major death with some great layouts conveying the loss and all the losses along the way. Nearly an entire page is devoted to those who died, which is a nice reminder of the hardships this volume showed, but also a capping off of things too.

That’s one big gun.

Is It Good?

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire has been a fantastic monster story very much due to the detailed photorealistic art and some surprising twists too. Sure it may have been stronger if it was reduced to 3 volumes, but it’s consistently shown it can keep the interest of the viewer by changing gears when necessary.