Comics / Manga

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 4 manga review

By Leroy Douresseaux
May 12, 2015 - 21:57

Resident Evil Volume 4 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

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Rated “M” for “Mature”


A horror manga, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire serves as a comic book prequel to the story line of CAPCOM’s bestselling video game, Resident Evil® 6.  This iteration of Resident Evil introduces the highly virulent C-virus, and the manga explores the origins of this new outbreak.

The story begins with Doug Wright, a professor in the Department of Sciences and Engineering at Bennett University.  Wright, who specializes in bacteriology, receives a letter from Mother Gracia, headmistress of Marhawa Academy, Asia's largest and most prestigious school.  Wright, who had a past relationship with Gracia, rushes to the school, with his nephew, 20-year-old Ricky Tozawa, in tow.  Deep in the jungle, Marhawa Academy is located within a giant, self-contained and self-sufficient complex.  There, Prof. Wright and Ricky find themselves caught in a deadly and growing tragedy that is an epidemic of zombie proportions.

As Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, Vol. 4 (Chapters 24 to 32) opens, Chris Redfield and his B.S.A.A. (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) unit finally arrive at Marhawa Academy.  Redfield, Merah Biji, and Piers Nivens find a full-blown zombie outbreak at the school, but they begin their search, hoping to find survivors.

The transformed and evil Bindi Bergara targets the sanctuary of a small band of survivors, but Merah decides that it is time to put a stop to her.  Redfield finds Ricky Tozawa, and the latter is forced to make a hard decision about his wounded Uncle Doug.  Meanwhile, the hooded woman lurks, when she isn't observing her handiwork.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have never played any Resident Evil video games, nor have I read previous Resident Evil comics, although I am a fan of the Resident Evil live-action film franchise.  Now, I wonder if I should learn to play video games so that I can get my Resident Evil on, because the Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire manga is making me more interested than ever in Resident Evil.

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 4 is at the point in the zombie outbreak narrative in which many characters to whom we are attached are dead or undead.  Writer-artist Naoki Serizawa makes the readers like the characters, so their demise or transformation matters.  The remaining characters are in trouble, and it is a shame that this manga is about to end.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of horror manga and zombie comics will want the VIZ Signature title, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire.

Rating: A /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12