Qualia the Purple

Qualia the Purple (紫色のクオリア, Murasaki-iro no Kuoria) is a Japanese science fiction light novel written by Ueo Hisamitsu and illustrated by Shirō Tsunashima. The light novel was released by ASCII Media Works under its Dengeki Bunko imprint on July 10, 2009.^[1] A manga adaptation, also illustrated by Tsunashima, was serialized in Dengeki Daioh magazine between January 2011 and August 2013.

Story

Manabu "Gaku" Hatō, an ordinary high school girl, has a chance encounter with Yukari Marii, a purple-eyed girl who claims to see all living beings as robots. As Gaku befriends Yukari and learns more about how she views the world, Gaku gets involved with a serial killer incident and suffers a serious injury to her left arm, which Yukari then somehow "repairs" using a cellphone. Shortly afterwards, Yukari is scouted by JAUNT, an organization showing interest in her unique ability, and ends up going with them, only to wind up getting killed in the process. Discovering her "phone hand" allows her to communicate and transfer between infinite versions of herself from various possibilities, Gaku begins a journey across time and space to find out the cause of Yukari's death, hoping to reach that single possibility where Yukari is able to survive.

Characters

Manabu "Gaku" Hatō (波濤 学, Hatō Manabu)

A boyish girl who is nicknamed "Gaku" due to how her name is read in kanji. She befriends Yukari, who describes her as an 'all-purpose robot compatible with many attachments'. When her left arm is sliced off by a serial killer, Yukari repairs it using a cellphone, giving her the ability to communicate with versions of herself from alternate timelines and realities under certain conditions. Using this power, Gaku becomes able to travel between these different possibilities, even going back in time and becoming other people in the process.

Yukari Marii (毬井 ゆかり, Marii Yukari)

A girl with purple eyes who allegedly sees all living things as robots, able to tell what a person is capable of based on what 'functions' they have. She allegedly can't tell the difference between an actual robot and a human being, though contrary to other peoples' belief, she considers robots to be just like humans, rather than the other way around. Her ability not only means she is talented as fixing machinery, but she can also repair humans just like machines, using various parts to substitute for missing limbs. Her mysterious death after being scouted by JAUNT sets Gaku on her quest to find a way to save her.

Alice Foyle (アリス・フォイル, Arisu Foiru)

A young genius girl who is a student of JAUNT. Despite having the appearance and mannerisms of a foreigner, Alice was originally Japanese, changing her name and hair color following a traumatic childhood. Similar to Yukari, Alice possesses a unique talent in which she can solve complicated math problems using child-like drawings. She is the one who first scouts Yukari into joining JAUNT. In several timelines, she becomes Gaku's lover.

Nanami Tenjō (天条 七美, Tenjō Nanami)

Gaku and Yukari's classmate, who is constantly bullying Yukari. During her childhood, she became impaled on a broken climbing frame, forcing Yukari to repair using pieces of climbing frame while she was still conscious. This led her to become cold towards Yukari, feeling that accepting her ability is real would mean accepting what her body is made up of. She gradually opens up to Gaku, teaching her about various scientific theories.

The Tokyo Dismembering Murderer

A sadistic woman in a high school uniform who takes pleasure in murdering people and severing their body parts. She claims to have a similar ability to Yukari, in which she sees all living things as meat sacks without souls, though Yukari believes that is simply her own delusion. She kidnaps Gaku and severs her left arm to lure out Yukari after she deduces her identity as the killer, but is stopped by Yukari's robot friends and "reprogrammed" to turn herself in.

Media

Light novel

The original light novel, written by Ueo Hisamitsu and illustrated by Shirō Tsunashima, was released on ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint on July 10, 2009.^[2][3]

Manga

A manga adaptation, also illustrated by Tsunashima, was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh magazine between January 27, 2011 and August 27, 2013. The series was collected in three tankōbon volumes between February 27, 2012 and October 26, 2013.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

References