Qualia the Purple - Vol. 3 Ch. 18

[LilithRaven]

so this manga is an story that does a poor job at make it about letting some one die because your lover is some how destined to die, so move on i guess?!?!……it’s yuri with an shity bad and unhappy ending :/

 

[fearlesschicken]

But like can we take a second to talk about Yukari's growth spurt at the last page. She's way taller than Manabu lol

 

[tvih]

I think I had multiple strokes reading that letter. What the heck was up with that?

 

[muimuingu]

Letter section's translation work let me down big time, dunno what happened there. I always enjoyed reading things in letter-form the most
That said, this was a god pull in its own right. I still find the dialogue-heavy sections on quanta and how results create cause and effect a bit confusing, but the titular "qualia" was handled surprisingly well. The beginning's somewhat rushed and out-of-perspective / 4th wall breaking / overly monologuous vibes was reused, to a different end, when the racing thoughts slowed down with the plot and the whole universe collapsed in on itself after the theory of everything was found. I appreciate how this made Manabu and Yukari's first chance encounter just that much more nostalgic.
Regarding intertextuality, defo strong steins:gate energy on this one, as many have already pointed out. Some other series I could think off the top of my head are Madoka Magica, Land of the Lustrous, Bibliomania, Helck, Homunculus, Billy Bat and Re:Zero - all of which deal with endless possibilities, their subsequent manipulation / abuse, and the futility of it all. "The masses" might not even be aware and thankful to our "genius" MCs for what they have gone through, but they also have their own problems to deal with, in their own personal ways.
The sequence where Manabu finally realizes how she isn't the only one entitled to observe the superposition of the world and make the wave function collapse, only to attempt an even worse desperado to escape fate is some edgy 14-year-old shit - shit that I just can't stop gushing over. Yukari calling out to her on the hospital bed afterwards is so bittersweet. They "finally" being equals in terms of clairvoyance does not matter here - Manabu took the most ironic and roundabout step to pull the relationship closer, despite their parallel lines having already intersected. That step, however, enabled Mana to really see the woods for the trees, and take her blonde loli gf's death in her stride.
Qualia my purple! one and only.

 

[BakedBanana]

So in the end..
She accept herself that she'll die murdered regardless?
I mean look at the letters.
She said something about not meeting each again and Gaku must not discouraged by it.
The letters also held by Tenjou because if it was given to Gaku she would redo the thing again trying to save her.

Why...
Why cant we have an happy ending?

@Xaelath
I think she's saying: in case I do end up dying, this letter is for you.
And she says she's giving the letter to Tenjou to give to Gaku if and when she dies.
Seeing as how this letter isn't illustrated or anything, I think it's safe to say that Yukari hasn't died yet.

And I think the last page might hint at a happy ending, with grown up Yukari and Gaku

Since we as the reader sees everything from Gaku's POV, the way i see it the letter implies that Yukari's dead (yet again) and Gaku's currently reading the letter.

I also think that the whole chapter is about Gaku finally accepted whatever might have happened in the future. Instead of desperately trying to save Yukari, she tries to get along with everyone and enjoy what little time they got left together.

It's pretty sad... Especially with the letter basically Yukari encouraging Gaku to move on despite of her death.

Honestly how I saw it was that it was a IF scenario if Yukari did die seeing as the next page says '(If part2)' on page 39. Maybe there's more in the light novel, I might check it out later and edit this post.

Also this Reddit thread about the chapter does explain why Yukari is alive quite well, so there's that too:

https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/2yc71k/_/cp8cyij

---

Regarding intertextuality, defo strong steins:gate energy on this one, as many have already pointed out. Some other series I could think off the top of my head are Madoka Magica, Land of the Lustrous, Bibliomania, Helck, Homunculus, Billy Bat and Re:Zero - all of which deal with endless possibilities, their subsequent manipulation / abuse, and the futility of it all.

Another one I can think of that deals with time looping and saving a person from a destined death would be Girls Go Around. That one had the MC stuck in a loop at the end where either him or the other 4 heroines would die over and over, all because they wouldn't give up.

---

But yeah that letter translation had me having to reread it a couple times to understand it..