It was an overwhelmingly intense love at first sight. Rings, chokers, black nails, countless piercings in his ears... Akane, the wild bassist of the struggling band 666DOPES. And Toui, the guitar-vocalist who fell for him and started dating him. Toui, bewildered yet devoted to caring for Akane as he repeatedly self-harms and craves painful sex, yearned to understand his heart. But he always got sidetracked, and his words slipped out. "If you just want to make me worry, please stop." Hearing this, Akane smiled sadly. “So that's how you see me, huh?” The more they love each other, the more they hurt each other. Strumming their lonely love between Thanatos and Eros. Sex, Love & Rock 'n' Roll!

666DOPES has a story by and art by Sato Satōh. English translation is done by lapin, Inc. Published by Kadokawa (July 24, 2026).

Content Warning: self-harm

Erica Friedman
Rating:

Sometimes a manga takes the time to discuss important issues that can't be expressed easily. And sometimes, a manga mines personal trauma for “entertainment.” With 666DOPES, it could go either way.

Akane cuts; he wants things to hurt. He smokes heavily, choosing the slowest form of suicide possible. He is in the habit of making himself suffer. Toui seems like a nice guy, and his friend Toshiki warns him away from Akane by saying “he's trouble.” It would have been so much more helpful to say “He's troubled.” Toui goes straight from infatuation to deep affection. Most likely because he is a cipher for the reading audience who sees a stray cat in Akane and wants to take it home and tame it.

Unfortunately, I can't get behind that premise at all. We weren't given enough time to understand Toui's love for Akane. It all seems rushed. Toui's “love” is not what Akane needs now.

The art here is perfect for the story. Lots of uncomfortable angles, and Akane's cuts increasing over time. Even Akane's piercings scream “I only feel when I hurt.” The beauty here is in the flaws—of both the characters and the art. I just hope Toui has some emotional wounds he can share with Akane, so they finally have something in common.

If you're looking for something/one toxic due to ongoing trauma, and a nice guy who, I am sure, will “fix” him after many angry tears and lancing of emotional wounds, 666DOPES might scratch that itch.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

What do you do when the person you love is potentially emotionally unavailable? Despite nominally being a manga about a punk band, 666DOPES is more of an exploration of Toui's difficult relationship with his bandmate Akane. Akane cuts himself and seems to be into other forms of self-harm – he wants Toui to actively hurt him during sex, for example – and this has driven many a guitarist/vocalist from the band. Toui joins because of his attraction to Akane, but by the time we meet them, it's starting to look like Akane may be a problem that Toui just can't fix…because Akane is so broken that he may not even know what it means not to be.

From the few flashbacks we get, I suspect that Akane's issues come from being abused as a child. He has a violent reaction to Toui wearing a necklace that reminds him of his mother, and whenever he looks in the mirror, he sees her (her ghost?) hovering over his shoulder. He can't explain his cutting to Toui, or possibly to himself, but it seems from an armchair psychiatrist perspective that he's using pain to feel alive or to let out the badness inside of him. It's not hard to see why other bandmates have left because of him. Watching Akane self-destruct in real time is difficult even on the page.

The risk this series runs is becoming about Toui being able to “save” his boyfriend. Toui's clearly a very caring guy, and it hurts him to see Akane covered in fresh cuts and old scars. But Akane also won't let him in, and when he tries to root around in his mental health anyway, Akane summarily rejects him. This is less about a pain kink relationship and more about the struggles of trying to help someone who doesn't want it. Even the art is dark and radiates pain in its black spaces, harsh lines, and messy backgrounds.

While I hesitate to call this torture porn, it is a series that revels in its darkness. If you're in the mood for that – or perhaps are a fan of series like Ten Count, I think you'll enjoy it. But if you're looking for light BL fare, look elsewhere.

Bolts
Rating:

This was an incredibly simple, albeit difficult story to read through, mainly because it is centered around a very specific and touchy subject matter. For teenagers and adults who self-harm, it's a lot more common than some people might think, and as somebody who has worked with people in a variety of different programs, what specifically leads somebody to perform acts of self-harm is actually pretty vast. The main idea is that performing intentional active harm to the physical body can release chemicals to keep the brain stimulated, but it can also psychologically help people deal with varying degrees of emotional numbness. I do like the slow buildup of how this story eventually gets to the heart of why the lead does cut themselves through the lens of a relationship they have with a bandmate who displays a reasonable amount of concern.

I also like the amount of patience that is displayed with this main couple as it is a very touchy subject to broach, especially when it is tied to physical intimacy. Despite the book's style and designs feeling a little bit busy, the focus on the self-inflicted cuts does feel very visceral in an unsettling way, but that is supposed to be the point. It is supposed to feel uncomfortable and awkward. Still, though, I do respect this story's boldness at tackling that subject in a way that balances the complicated feelings surrounding the character Akane, who does self-harm and even tries to add that pain to his sexual relationship.

It is portrayed as a cry for help, but it is also seen as a symptom of a much bigger problem. Much like any destructive vice, dealing with complicated situations or upbringings can lead to various outlets. Some outlets are more harmful than others, but what's important is finding somebody who can properly be there for you to help you feel the emotions that you seek when performing said acts. This is definitely something that not everyone is going to immediately resonate with, but I do feel like this is a story that most people should expose themselves to, if only so they can at least have an idea of what to do if you end up coming across somebody similar or end up feeling similar impulses yourself.