I'm probably going to get some flaming for this, but despite my love of Japanese culture there are a lot of things I really hate about Japanese society. Pedophilia, xenophobia, racism, male chauvinism, strict gender roles, sexual repression despite bizarre sexual deviancy ... True, it all appears everywhere, but these things seem ingrained in the Japanese mindset.

Sure, these themes appears in manga - art imitates life, after all - but I'd like to read a manga that actually discusses them, parodyingly or otherwise. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and some of his other works are a good example of this. Kimi wa Pet could also be considered this, with most of the story's conflict revolving around gender roles and sexism in the workplace.

Maybe:

Arigatou and probably other titles by YAMAMOTO Naoki
Shura Yukihime
Good-bye (TATSUMI Yoshihiro)
Toukyou Ubasuteyama
Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators

Hrodulf and Bjornolfr, you will not be forgotten.
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[color=black]And if the world were black and white,
you would be my rainbow in shades of grey.[/color]

Click 'n Play!

If I had a fantasy self, it'd be a tentacle monster.

This is actually a relatively intelligent request. It's true that Japanese culture has a lot of oddities- I think a strong argument can be made that many of the ones we are typically more critical of- racism, chauvinism, etc- are really passing products as antediluvian values will inevitable fall more and more out of the mainstream, but in terms of the immediate we're still looking at a flawed society struggling with a lot of problems. Nonetheless, I think you'll find that, unfortunately, there's not going to be all that much manga that has a critical eye- it's largely an escapist, rather than literary, medium.

First, on the more political end of the spectrum, Sanctuary may be something that you might find interesting, given Japan's shall we say, er, highly unique political dimension.

On a similar note, the anime Higashi no Eden addressed this, although the level it reached in the series alone was mostly just a little bit of exposition and some superficial commentary, it was still very entertaining.

Following more on the indirect level, Akira, Battle Royale, Ghost in the Shell and other works of that type are in a distinct creative niche that spends a lot of time commenting on this issues, but in a rather subtle way in comparison.

Breaking into this a bit more deeply, NS' suggestions were all pretty good cracks at this, some I might add include:
Subarashii Sekai (short vignettes, most only vaguely critical, but all distinctly Japanese)
A couple of the shorts in Endo Hiroki Tanpenshu
Iryuu - Team Medical Dragon (very medicine centric, but it actually references the racism briefly and discusses the system very critically.

There are also a lot of anti-exam war type manga- probably attributed to post-bubble lost generation culture- but I'm not sure that's really what you're looking for.

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i like to add anime Serial Exprements: Lain as it was todays Japan: a country without aim.

Trust me, I am an engineer.

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i like to add anime Serial Exprements: Lain as it was todays Japan: a country without aim.

Actually, both Lain and Evangelion are supposed to explore the post-bubble lost generation mentality. So if that interests you, then those are both good options.

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Hataraki Man

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maybe akumetsu? its about the japans political debt kinda thing

The 'Deep' Love series immediately springs to mind:

Deep Love - Ayu no Monogatari

Deep Love - Host

Deep Love - Reina no Unmei

Deep Love - Pao no Monogatari

Deep Love: Real

And erm... would Bitter Virgin count? =S

Name: Bikuki
Date Of Birth: xx/xx/19xx
Location: XX
From: The Place That Rhymes With China.

Fooled you, sucker.

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I'm not sure but oh well.

Dokuro, Believers - religious sects
Homunculus - the expansion of multinational companies and their affect on lower classes + dark life of schoolgirls
Ichi the Killer - yakuza (I'd say more maybe if I read it to the end)
Jisatsu Circle, Confidential Confessions - dark life of schoolgirls

Great suggestions so far. And one of the most interesting request threads I've seen in a while...

Black & White - Surreal tale about corrupt politicians and two orphans
Blue Spring - Nilhistic portrayal of Japanese highschool life
Screw-Style - Post-WWII depression
Red Colored Elegy - Sexual repression, post-WWII depression
Smuggler - Uber-violent one-shot concerning Yakuza and body-traffickers
Watching TV All The Time Makes You Stupid - Bleak and blackly comic account of a hikkimori
Strain - Similar to Sanctuary; Yakuza and corrupt politicians
Short Cuts - Cynical but light-hearted look at modern Japanese schoolgirls
Freesia - Tells of a Japan where assasins called 'proxies' are legally allowed to take out revenge on murderers, rapists etc.

"Paranoia Agent" anime: prostitution, otaku geeks, yakuza, incest intent, horrors of popularity in school, overstudying, meeting of suicide bombers, anime production, mascot production and much more.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND:

Confidential confessions, Deai and any mangas made by Momochi Reiko

I also recommend Psychometer Eiji, it's a very good read (especially on the latter volumes) and does focus on some darker aspects of the Japanese (screw-up) society)

Life and Koizora also focus on highschool bullying..teens in japan although personally, I find these two mangas kinda stupid and melodramatic. *lolz >___>

Another interesting recommendation would be Ikigami (although that took place in an alternate world than the real japan itself)

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[color=black]This Week's favourite:[/color]
DoLL (Okado Tatsuya)
Xp

Blue Heaven is not only a horror, but a scathing critique of society. It criticizes capitalism, racial profiling and the importance of appearance in contemporary japanese society. There is also a heavy post 9-11 vibe if you're interested.

Some school-angst mangas such as Life often examines corruption of the educational/exam system and the impact bullying has had on students.

Akumetsu has hints of criticism of japan's decaying government and the corruption that consumes it.

Chaos Head concerns a mentally ill (schizophrenic) recluse who stops going to school.. i really wish it was less about fighting and more about this social problem. Some points of social critique i fished out were that his parents send him money (he lives in a steel warehouse on the roof of some building) and don't ever visit him. If i find a serious, hikakimori manga, i'll post it.

A lot of technological manga may have great critique of Japanese society. It's constantly

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei deals with the depression and suicide.

Honestly, we had a manga analysis session in my Japanese civ class and you can pretty much find references to japanese society anywhere.

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And about the delincuents ... Maybe Holyland But that its a work of fiction. I think all the other post really go deep into what you wanted.

Bokurano.

OK it's supposedly about children and mecha, but each character's story gets told, and these stories are such an example of the dark aspects of society that it might be what you're looking for. I've only seen the anime, so the manga is probably even more disturbing.