The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse (ウスズミの果て, Usuzumi no Hate) is a Post-apocalyptic Sci-fi adventure manga series written and illustrated by Haruo Iwamune.
A girl walks alone in a world without humans. Her mission—to search for survivors and cleanse the land of Crystalosis. But is anyone still out there in the lonely, beautiful ruins, waiting to be found?
Provides examples of the following tropes:
- Absurdly Dedicated Worker: Justified. Once robots are given their tasks, they'll keep performing them even decades after the person that gave it to them is long dead.
- Claudia had been looking after the Manor for fifty years and begged for death once she found out her Master was dead.
- Ethan is a librarian robot who's following Nichimuro's last request to protect the library. This includes going out of his way to find every checked out book (a total of 37,943 books) and return them to the library.
- Henrietta has been caring for the Daughter and her garden even after the Daughter dies.
- Saya herself is this. She has cleared out at least one entire city of infected corpses and Executioners, possibly more, over the course of 50 years.
- Action Girl: Saya is very handy with a pistol and a knife. While fights are rare in the series, she only struggles when caught off guard.
- After the End:
- The story takes place fifty years after the appearance of the Executioners, who wiped out most humanity. They brought along Crystalosis, which infected the air with a miasma that killed anyone who got infected, preserving the bodies of those it killed. The disaster was caused by Daigiren in an attempt to liberate the Marebito.
- A thousand years before the Executioners arrival, there was a Great War that nearly wiped out all life and even caused a massive loss of media (like movies and books) from before the war. The remaining humans decided to isolate themselves in cities to minimize their contact with the natural world outside of some designated viewing areas. The war was fought over some very powerful energy crystals, which were sealed away to prevent another war, though now Sabimuna plans to use them to liberate the possibly fictional Marebito, who made the crystals.
- All for Nothing: A group of humans sacrificed their lives to kill an Executioner to protect a group of children. Once Saya finds them, they are all dead.
- Ambiguously Human: Saya was built as part of the Eternal Child Project, and appears to be a human with cybernetic enhancements, and a crazy Healing Factor. However, Saya doesn't know very common human traits, like that human stomachs growl, for example, and is described as being "constructed differently". So it's unclear if she's just a human with enhancements or something different.
- Apocalypse How: Twofold, both on Planetary level:
- A thousand years before the events of the series, A Great War fought over energy crystals caused the extinction of several creatures and the near extinction of humans. Humans chose to isolate themselves in cities and and seal away the crystals
- 50 years before the events of the series, a sudden invasion of Executioners brought on a deadly virus called Crystalosis, which wiped out almost every other human. Both were created by Daigiren in an attempt to liberate the Marebito.
- Bioweapon Beast: The Executioners are this, as Daigiren created them. Daigiren has also created other bioweapons for use in the Great War.
- Brain Uploading: Possible, but apparently risky. A Movie Buff downloaded his mind into an unfinished robot, since he had Crystalosis anyway. He clarifies that it was pure luck and that he's not the same person but a mere copy.
- Daigiren loves this trope. As survivors of the Great War, the uploaded their brains into their children. The risks involved drove Daigiren to start the Eternal Child program, although it was cancelled due to lack of feasibility. Sabimuna, Daigiren's "will", uploads his mind into an android and destroyed the shelter Vinny and Reka were in.
- Born from a Dead Woman: Crystalosis preserves the bodies of those it infects and kills. While this often results in the death of both the mother and child, sometimes, the child continues developing and is born. The result is a child completely immune to Crystalosis and unable to spread it.
- Curb-Stomp Cushion: A group of humans managed to kill a huge Special-type Executioner while lacking any form of heavy weaponry at the cost of their lives.
- Death by Origin Story: Isami and Kanako's unnamed Father is mortally wounded by some paranoid survivors who betrayed them, and ultimately succumbs to Crystalosis.
- Death World: By the time the story starts, the Earth has become an inhospitable place for humans. It's plagued by hostile Executioners and the corpses of those who succumbed to Crystalosis emit a Miasma that spreads it to anyone not immune.
- Due to the Dead: Saya takes disposing of the bodies very seriously. Every month she cremates large numbers of corpses, performs Kotsuage note and personally buries them all.
- Evil, Inc.: Daigiren is a self serving corporation that was founded by Great War survivors. They have a habit of uploading their brains into their children, and made the Eternal Child program as an attempt to have a permanent body. They also created weapons during the Great War, and later the cities humans isolated themselves in after it ended. It's later revealed Daigiren worship the Marebito, entities that guided humanities development, and are attempting to liberate them. Crystalosis and Executioners were made by Daigiren to do just that.
- Fallout Shelter Fail: A lot of shelters are already destroyed by the time Saya arrives. Often by Executioners, though rarely by other means.
- Fantastic Racism: Those born from corpses of Crystalosis are immune to it and can't spread it. That has not stopped many people from making their own assumptions and calling them Demons or Fake Humans, and then attempting to kill them.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Possibly the case for those born from the corpses of humans killed by Crystalosis, who have horns on their head/face and eyes similar to Executioners. The amount of these traits vary, Isami and Reka have only one affected eye and small horns on one side of their heads, while Kanako has both her eyes affected and tiny horns on her forehead and cheeks.
- Happily Adopted: Isami and Kanako were adopted by their unnamed Father who suffers Death by Origin Story, due to both of them being born from the corpses of those killed by Crystalosis. Both have a good relation with their Father and have a strong Sibling Team dynamic.
- Healing Factor: Saya has a crazy powerful one, able to regenerate anything from slashed cheeks to being impaled through the heart and brain without any downsides.
- Heroic BSoD: Saya goes through this a bit, due to the death of Tomine and the death of Nani. Saya doesn't even understand what is wrong with her when she feels this way.
- The Immune: Anyone born from the corpse of someone with Crystalosis is both immune to it and can't spread it. Androids are also immune since Crystalosis only targets humans, and Saya was designed to be immune to Crystalosis alongside other diseases.
- Intrigued by Humanity: Saya had never even met any humans for around 50 years. She doesn't know very common human things like human stomachs growl when hungry, and even has to assume humans can't regenerate based on information taught to her, which she uses to show she's an Eternal Child to Tomine.
- The Movie Buff: One downloaded his mind into a limbless robot seated in a cinema. He has no limbs and can't even move his head, but he's content with his situation, since he can continue watching movies.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Humans born from the corpses of those killed by Crystalosis can sense Executioners with practice.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: Saya can't die of old age, having been around cremating infected corpses for potentially up to 50 years, and her Regeneration allows her to take a lot of punishment, including being impaled through the head and heart with no issue. However, it may be possible to kill her with extreme injuries as show when the Knight Executioner nearly kills her, forcing Isami and Kanako to intervene to give Saya time to land the final blow, though she recovered from her wounds shortly after. Whether she is The Ageless is unclear as she was a born as a child and grew to her current self, though she has looked the same ever sense, which presumably 40-50 years. This was the reason Daigiren made the Eternal Child project, to upload their minds into an immortal body. The project was cancelled but revived by Towa as a way to "reincarnate" her dead daughter.
- The Plague: Crystalosis is a 100% lethal plague that is airborn and spread by Executioners. Once it infects a human, it kills them over the course of a day or two. A corpse killed by Crystalosis is preserved and will not decay, and will grow crystals. The body itself will also spread Crystalosis through the air if left alone, only cremation can get rid of both the corpse and disease. It is possible for humans to be born from the corpses of pregnant woman, which results in humans immune to Crystalosis and unable to spread it. It's later revealed Daigiren manufactured both Cyrstalosis and the Executioners.
- Psychic Block Defense: Towa Hakkaku serves this role for Saya to prevent Daigiren executives from uploading their minds into her. Unfortunately, it's a one time defense, and Vinny triggered it when probing her memories. Towa instead uses the opportunity to give Vinny information and prove Saya's innocence to him.
- Ragnarök-Proofing: Humans that died of the Crystalosis do not decay. Even fifty years later, they look the same as the day they died, often found in their last moments together. A corpse that is decayed is usually a sign they were killed by someone.
- Robot Maid: Various are seen throughout, often as personal servants, employees, or guards. Many fill the role of exposition for what happened in their general area to both Saya and the audience.
- Claudia is an android that has been keeping her Master's manor clean and tidy since long before the Executioners arrived.
- An unnamed Hologram robot served as an assistant for a now dead shelter. Unfortunately, it wasn't programmed outside of maintaining the shelter, and was not provided authority to actually help the humans. Even when violence arose over who would be leader, it couldn't step in. It also likes to permanently lock people in the shelter which it does to the last survivor, who took himself out and attempts the same on Saya.
- Ethan is a librarian robot who assisted the Head Librarian, Nichimuro, helping protect books when the Executioners invaded. In the process, Ethan lost his main body, and had to be put into a new one by Nichimuro before she succumbs to Crystalosis. Her Last Request for Ethan is to protect the library.
- Henrietta is a support unit designed to help the sick daughter of a wealthy couple and care for the plants in the manor. The couple were on a business trip when the disaster struck, so the daughter was stuck with Henrietta in her mansion. The daughter chose to die and become fertilizer for sunflowers because she feared cremation.
- Hans was an assistant to a watch repairman who was later entrusted to run the shop. His last act is to repair a watch found by the group and teach some of his skills to Isami.
- Vinny was built as a combat android by Daigiren and given free will. Naturally, he went rouge.
- Nani is an android designed to train and take care of Saya and Ku at the request of Towa. Once she completes this task, she self destructs her programming.
- Alexander is an android designed to maintain a storage of clothing and tailor outfits to tenants of a shelter, until said shelter was breached by Executioners. He requests Saya cremate the corpse of a woman who was supposed to get married in the shelter.
- Sole Survivor: There are many examples of this, often relayed to Saya and friends via archival recordings or being told so by a assistant robot. So far, all choose to take their own life.
- An unnamed survivor is the last one remaining of a shelter that fell due to violent disputes over who would be leader. When the AI overseeing the shelter refuses to let him leave and attempts to force him to stay, he kills himself.
- Tomine is the sole survivor of his colleagues at the museum. He takes his own life after Saya helps cremate his dead colleagues.
- The daughter who is watched over by Henrietta is (very likely) the only surviving member of her family. She chose to die and be buried, letting her corpse fertilize the sunflowers in her garden.
- Unaffected by Spice: Saya loves spicy food and, whenever possible will go for the spiciest kinds available. Kanako is a downplayed case, but she still enjoys foods at a medium spice level. Isami is the only one of the three who prefers no spice.
- The Unfettered: Saya is sort of this. Her mission is to purge the world of Crystalosis and care for survivors she finds, with the end goal of making the world more habitable. When she does encounter other humans, she does shift from her goal, but still will stop to cremate corpses when the possibility arises. Turns out Saya's mission is fake, given to her by Towa so she has a purpose. It's beneficial to Saya mentally because she's immortal and the world is basically dead, so the mission gives her a reason to see the world.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Revealed in the Archives bonuses, Isami and Kanako's Father saved Ayukawa from falling to his death from a collapsing bridge. Many years later, Ayukawa mortally wounds him when he tries to protect Isami, simply because Ayukawa considers Isami and Kanako "Fake Humans". Their father kills Ayukawa and his men before he dies, before succumbing to Crystalosis.
- Unusual Pets for Unusual People: The Girl is the only living human immune to the Crystalosis, and her pet, Ku, is a small... thing. Ku was made by Daigiren for some unknown reason before being rescued by Towa. This doesn't explain what Ku is though