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Off*Beat #2
Off*Beat Volume 2
This is the second volume of the "Off-Beat" romance manga.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 5, 2020
Colin confronts Tory about his stalking, but Tory lies and pretends that everything Colin noticed is a coincidence. They agree to meet up at Tory's house for another tutoring session (Tory doesn't even bother to ask Mandy to join them this time around), and Paul gets on Tory's case for his hidden motives for "befriending" Colin. It surprises Tory when Colin goes out of his way to spend more time with him. What he doesn't know is that Colin now has his own hidden agenda.
Whereas almost nothing happened in volume 1, volume 2 had actual forward movement. That said, it's still unclear exactly which genre(s) this falls under. It's for sure a mystery. Tokyopop has "Drama/Romance" on the back cover...and I don't know that I agree. Yes, Tory blushed anytime Colin paid attention to him, and if his interest in Colin were purely about finding out more about the Gaia Project, he wouldn't have cared so much how his hair looked before meeting up with Colin. And yes, there was a line of dialogue that indicated that Colin felt drawn to Tory as well, and that it wasn't for a reason that made sense to him. And Mandy seemed like she shipped them, which was...kind of weird (I sincerely hope that there was more of a point to Mandy's existence in this series than noticing feelings brewing between Tory and Colin before they themselves did). So yeah, there could be mutual interest. But Tory's spent the whole series stalking Colin, and Colin spent a good chunk of this volume keeping things from Tory and checking up on him, so I'm not really comfortable with calling it a romance.
And speaking of Tory's stalking, what was with Paul? On the one hand, he lectured Tory about getting closer to the person he was stalking. On the other hand, he later gave Tory all the Gaia Project files he was able to rescue, knowing that this would only feed Tory's obsession.
Although this volume included a few peeks into Colin's home life, I still don't have a clue what sort of secret he might be hiding. He mentioned something called "atunement" (Tory apparently didn't have it) and repeatedly told Tory that he wasn't sick or sickly, even though he certainly seemed like it.
I'm frustrated enough with the lack of information and answers to try getting volume 3 via interlibrary loan. It looks like only 5 libraries own a physical copy, so there's a good possibility I won't get it, but it's still worth a try. And yes, I know I could buy an electronic copy. I don't want to do that. If that's my only option, then I'm just never going to finish the series.
If this is where things end, then I'm somewhat annoyed. Volume 2's pacing was a lot better than volume 1, to the point that I'm wondering whether this could have been a 2-volume series if it had been more tightly written.
Extras:
A short preview of a Tokyopop OEL manga series called Earthlight. I'm not interested in reading more of it.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Whereas almost nothing happened in volume 1, volume 2 had actual forward movement. That said, it's still unclear exactly which genre(s) this falls under. It's for sure a mystery. Tokyopop has "Drama/Romance" on the back cover...and I don't know that I agree. Yes, Tory blushed anytime Colin paid attention to him, and if his interest in Colin were purely about finding out more about the Gaia Project, he wouldn't have cared so much how his hair looked before meeting up with Colin. And yes, there was a line of dialogue that indicated that Colin felt drawn to Tory as well, and that it wasn't for a reason that made sense to him. And Mandy seemed like she shipped them, which was...kind of weird (I sincerely hope that there was more of a point to Mandy's existence in this series than noticing feelings brewing between Tory and Colin before they themselves did). So yeah, there could be mutual interest. But Tory's spent the whole series stalking Colin, and Colin spent a good chunk of this volume keeping things from Tory and checking up on him, so I'm not really comfortable with calling it a romance.
And speaking of Tory's stalking, what was with Paul? On the one hand, he lectured Tory about getting closer to the person he was stalking. On the other hand, he later gave Tory all the Gaia Project files he was able to rescue, knowing that this would only feed Tory's obsession.
Although this volume included a few peeks into Colin's home life, I still don't have a clue what sort of secret he might be hiding. He mentioned something called "atunement" (Tory apparently didn't have it) and repeatedly told Tory that he wasn't sick or sickly, even though he certainly seemed like it.
I'm frustrated enough with the lack of information and answers to try getting volume 3 via interlibrary loan. It looks like only 5 libraries own a physical copy, so there's a good possibility I won't get it, but it's still worth a try. And yes, I know I could buy an electronic copy. I don't want to do that. If that's my only option, then I'm just never going to finish the series.
If this is where things end, then I'm somewhat annoyed. Volume 2's pacing was a lot better than volume 1, to the point that I'm wondering whether this could have been a 2-volume series if it had been more tightly written.
Extras:
A short preview of a Tokyopop OEL manga series called Earthlight. I'm not interested in reading more of it.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
December 6, 2019
Picking up from where we left off with the previous volume, I feel like this installment does take a little more time to focus on building up a potential relationship between Tory and Colin than the previous one did, as well as focusing on the ominous build-up to the truth behind I don't have much to say on this overall, though I would like to note that it was nice to see more character growth in Tory as we go through the events of this volume, and it was equally nice to see Colin opening up more. We do end on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I'm still invested enough in the story that I believe I'm going to bite the bullet and purchase the Kindle release of the third volume and bonus chapter. Typically I wouldn't, but since there's no other option for me to find out how the story ends, I'm going to resort to it if I must.
September 7, 2025
This volume did not, in fact, remind me of why I enjoyed the series, and instead continued to leave me baffled. While Tory becomes slightly less of an ass to Mandy in this, he's still an ass to Paul and his mom, who continue to not really deserve it. (Okay, maybe Paul deserves some of it for constantly barging into their place and eating their food, but.)
The obsession with Collin continues, and this time he creates a plan of forced proximity. I'm not sure what the end goal was for Tory here: did he want to make friends with Collin in order to get him to open up? It's just not clear.
At this point, I'm reading the final volume for closure as it came out years after I first read the series.
The obsession with Collin continues, and this time he creates a plan of forced proximity. I'm not sure what the end goal was for Tory here: did he want to make friends with Collin in order to get him to open up? It's just not clear.
At this point, I'm reading the final volume for closure as it came out years after I first read the series.
February 22, 2020
I am so happy I only own the first 2 so I don't have to suffer through any more.
February 22, 2020
Okay so I liked seeing their relationship develop more in this volume. I really need to get my hands on volume 3 to find out what happened next!
September 29, 2014
In Off*Beat v.2 Tory finally becomes friends with Colin and we see him lose track of time and neglect his documentation in lieu of enjoying himself. Tory grows a great deal in this volume and we see his obsession with Colin turn to heartwarming love, (though Tory himself is oblivious to his true feelings) and he's able to think straight enough to recognize he's really hurt Mandy. I still feel sorry for Mandy, who is dealing with the loss of Tory as a potential boyfriend, and can't help but see her two friends as a couple now. Thanks to Tory, Colin seems to finally have come out of his shell and uses every opportunity to make physical contact with him (reading it, my heart was racing as much as Tory's xD). There's really no better way to describe their relationship than "harmony." At one point in the story Colin suspects Tory of having supernatural powers and tests Tory through a strange and wonderful bonding technique. Finding instead that Tory simply has an uncanny knack for private investigation, Colin turns to ice and begins to think of Tory as an enemy or rival. The way Colin's feelings suddenly chill toward Tory is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. Off*Beat is an exceptionally well written and adorable comic
November 14, 2013
Oh, Tory, baby. You have so much to learn about the human heart. Oh, and not stalking the boys you have secret crushes (that are so secret even you don't know it's there) on. In this volume of Off*Beat, the closer Tory gets to Colin in order to learn more about the Gaia Project, the more Tory gets to realizing that it's more about Colin that anything else. He also starts realizing that his actions have consequences - and those consequences hurt. It's yet another wonderful volume of Off*Beat that has me eagerly awaiting the publication of the third.
You can read my complete review of OFF*BEAT 2 at my blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/
You can read my complete review of OFF*BEAT 2 at my blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/
November 14, 2013
Tory finally gains more trust from Colin. Colin is curious whether Tory is just very observant, or if he's "attuned". I wonder what that all means? I suppose it has something to do with the mysterious Gaia Project. New secrets do unfold though. Colin seems to let on that he has a condition. And Tory seems to hold a hatred for his father who seems to have left the picture. It leaves off on such a cliffhanger as Tory may have gain and just lost Colin's trust so quickly with his curious pryings. I wonder if he can make amends?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2008
Tory kind of starts to befriend the mysterious Colin. It was cute and slightly awkward, and I probably repeatedly said things like awww as I was reading it.
Oh, and turns out Colin is involved with something called the Gaia Project. So you know, that's exciting.
Oh, and turns out Colin is involved with something called the Gaia Project. So you know, that's exciting.
October 17, 2014
Read Vol. 1 & 2 as part of bookshelf purge. The series was well-reviewed, but didn't work for me: Tokyopop OEL manga always feel undercooked, somehow. A more concrete problem is that the protagonist Tory is a stalker, and yet we're supposed to root for his romance with love interest Colin. Nope!
March 19, 2008
THIS IS A AVERY GOOD BOOK TO READ I LIKE TO READ THESE BOOKS BEACUSE THERE FUNNY THEY MAKE YOU HAPPY AND YALL SMILE ALOT TRUST ME YOU WILL I DIDNT AT FIRST
July 7, 2013
Still don't understand this series enough to be excited about it
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews