is a '' yuri''

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

written by and illustrated by . It was first published in Japan by

ASCII Media Works , formerly , is a Japanese Publishing, publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing headquartered in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It originally formed on April 1, 2008, as a result of a Mergers and acquisitions, merger bet ...

under the

Dengeki Bunko is a publishing imprint (trade name), imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works (a division of Kadokawa Future Publishing formerly called MediaWorks (publisher), MediaWorks). It was established in June 1993 with th ...

imprint on July 10, 2009. A manga adaptation, drawn by Tsunashima, was serialized in ''

Dengeki Daioh is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) under the ''Dengeki'' brand. Many manga serialized in ''Dengeki Daioh'' were later published in ''tankōbon'' volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comi ...

'' starting on January 27, 2011, and published in Japan in a total of three ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes. Both the novel and its manga adaptation are licensed by

Seven Seas Entertainment Seven Seas Entertainment is an American publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original English-language manga, but now publishes licensed manga and light novels from Japan, as w ...

for publication in North America.

Premise

Marii Yukari, a junior high school student possesses purple eyes via which she perceives all humans as robots. She has only a single friend, Manabu "Gaku" Hatou. Marii is enlisted into a secret organization that wants to take advantage of her powers, and becomes involved in a series of dangerous science experiments whose consequences ultimately force Gaku to make a difficult choice.

Publication

''Qualia the Purple'' was written by with illustrations provided by , and first published in Japan by

as a

title on July 10, 2009. A manga adaptation, drawn by Tsunashima, was serialized in ''

'' from January 27, 2011, and was published in a total of three volumes. In February 2022,

announced that they had licensed both the light novel and manga for publication in the English language within North America, and released the novel's English version on December 13, 2022. The manga's English version, which will be published in a single

omnibus edition An omnibus edition or omnibus is a book containing multiple creative works by the same or, more rarely, different authors. Commonly two or more of the works have been previously published as books, but a collection of shorter works, or shorter w ...

volume as ''Qualia the Purple: The Complete Manga Collection'', is slated for publication on June 13, 2023.

Manga volume list

Reception

Reviewing ''Qualia the Purple'' for ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

'', Christopher Farris generally praised the plot, characters, and science fiction elements of the story, and opined that the novel would work best if one went into the story knowing as little as possible about its plot twists. Farris described the early chapters of the story as "fun in an inoffensive way," and characterized it as deliberately light in tone in order to make readers more comfortable prior to its more serious plot developments. While Farris said that he greatly enjoyed the story overall, he felt that the "dense" descriptions of theoretical

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

topics (which he said could necessitate frequent rereading for some), and some darker turns later in the narrative, could alienate certain readers. Regarding the ''yuri'' components of the story, he said that they were not introduced in a manner that readers would anticipate (another factor he perceived as potentially alienating) but nonetheless said that this element of the story was effective and felt that it included "one of the most heartwarming, romantic applications of quantum physics you've yet seen." Farris also praised the English version and its prose, which he said "reads very well." Maria Remivoza of '' CBR'' included the ''Qualia the Purple'' manga on a list of "10 Best Underrated Sci-Fi Manga". David Heath of ''Game Rant'' included ''Qualia'' in a list of "best" science fiction light novels that did not yet have an anime adaptation. Discussing the manga, Tito W. James of ''Comicon'' commended the ability of the narrative to "ground high concept quantum mechanics and philosophy in grounded, believable human emotion" and said that ''Qualia'' deserved an anime adaptation.

References

External links

* {{Dengeki Daioh 2009 Japanese novels Anime and manga based on light novels ASCII Media Works manga Dengeki Bunko Dengeki Daioh Japanese science fiction novels Science fiction anime and manga Seven Seas Entertainment titles Shōnen manga Yuri (genre) anime and manga Yuri (genre) light novels