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manga/anime series that have a central anti-authority theme or critique the government/some aspect of society

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Jun 6, 2023 3:42 PM
#1

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Aug 2019
2559
Preferably manga recommendations, but I'm open to checking out anime that are promising in this regards. Bonus points if the series is anti-cop.
Jun 6, 2023 7:48 PM
#2
鋼鉄乙女

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Aug 2016
610
I´ve recently started watching Moriarty the Patriot and its seems to have some critique of the societal divisions of 19th century England, only watched two episodes so far but seems promising in this aspect. Besides this anime, I can only think of Legend of the Galactic Heroes having some anti-government commentary and actually showcasing the faults of both democracy and autocracy.
"Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!" - Bill & Ted´s Excellent Adventure

Check my introduction to Char´s Counterattack interest stack if you´re interested in watching UC Gundam. Also check my Legend of the Galactic Heroes OVA Chronological Watch Order for LoGH info!
Jun 6, 2023 9:04 PM
#3

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Feb 2016
15163
Barefoot Gen is about the bombing of Hiroshima. What I've read of it also critiques the Japanese government for forcing its people into a terrible war.

The Rose of Versailles follows the downfall of the French monarchy.

Black Jack is about an unlicensed surgeon.
Midnight is like Black Jack except he's a taxi driver.

Phoenix critiques a great many things over the course of the manga's 12 storylines.

I don't watch a lot of stuff with police. Collar x Malice is getting a pair of movies this season. It stars a police officer but also critiques the police. I don't think the visual novel it's based on is very good.

The closest thing to anti-cop I can recommend is Sukeban Deka. This theme is only lightly touched upon, but it's about a girl coerced by police into doing their work.
その目だれの目?
Jun 6, 2023 10:40 PM
#4

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Jul 2021
533
Jibaku-kun: Twelve World Story looks like a weird bootleg mix between Dragon Ball and Pokemon, and starts very comedic but as the mysteries regarding needle-tower and the GC system begin to unfold halfway through the anti-establishment themes become notorious especially when they get to World 11. You'll only find dubs and subs in Spanish and Portuguese since it never had an English dub though.
Jun 6, 2023 11:12 PM
#5

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Apr 2014
13384
Carole and Tuesday, sort of? I know there's an anti-cop scene in it at least lol
Jun 7, 2023 2:42 PM
#6

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Nov 2012
538
Psycho Pass is a dystopian sci-fi anime that deals with corruption in law enforcement and the justice system.
Jun 8, 2023 5:21 AM
#7

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Oct 2014
6693
Renai Idenshi XX

Protag is anti-establishment and butts heads with some of the high society types in the school.

Basically it's a future where men have died off due to some disease leaving a female-only world. Government steps in and separates everyone into Adams and Eves, Adams wearing male attire (kinda like the uniforms in Revolutionary Girl Utena) and assuming traditionally male roles in society while the Eves "remain" as females. Enter our protag who has issues with this plus other things.

Err, the cover is rather clickbaity: there's mild ecchi but it's not hentai like the cover seems to suggest. It's also not overly dramatic and is more of a crossdressing romcom tbh.

Avatar: Anzu Kadotani from Girls und Panzer. XMas awesomeness version by Charenji :)

Jun 8, 2023 8:27 AM
#8

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May 2012
18055
https://myanimelist.net/anime/37140/Gegege_no_Kitarou_2018 has some anti-government arcs and episodes. One of the best episodes of the past decade is #20 from this show which criticizes how the Japanese government whitewashes the country's role in WWII in education.

https://myanimelist.net/anime/13125/Shinsekai_yori is all about repression. It also has one of my top EDs.



Two of screenwriter Nakashima Kazuki's works deal with government repression. Kill la Kill is a satire that criticizes the militarization of Japanese education via school uniforms. It's pretty clear what this show is about since the opening scene takes place in a classroom discussing Nazism. Satsuki's speech in this trailer comes right out of 1984.



Nakashima's https://myanimelist.net/anime/2152/Oh_Edo_Rocket concerns the Tempou Reforms that were instituted in the 1830's to suppress foreign influences. The idol show https://myanimelist.net/anime/12149/AKB0048 by Okada Mari also refers back to these historical events even though the show is set in the far future. The AKB0048 idols stage guerrilla concerts across the galaxy in defiance of an anti-entertainment ban.




Not an anime, but the live-action Godzilla movie by Anno Hideaki (of Evangelion fame) is a critique of the government's response to Fukushima with Godzilla playing the role of the tsunami.
SeijiSenseiJun 8, 2023 8:39 AM
Jun 8, 2023 10:11 AM
#9
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Jul 2021
4
Definetely Akumetsu.
It's one of my favorite and I think it fits your request pretty well.
Jun 9, 2023 9:41 AM
Jun 9, 2023 4:16 PM
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Jun 2023
1
Not sure if you've seen it but 86 is beyond amazing. Second season of the anime came out last year and the manga is still ongoing. The government separates silver colored hair people, who live a safe normal life, to normal hair people who are sent to the battlefield to fight machines that steal brains and a lot of them die. They fight in drones and are called Eighty-Six. The silver haired people who work for the government call the Eighty-Six pigs and say they should all die. It's super messed up but they include romance and its literally my favorite series EVER! Give it a try!!!

Also where is your banner from I know this art style and can't place the manga??
skynighttJun 9, 2023 4:20 PM
Jun 12, 2023 2:49 PM

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Aug 2019
2559
skynightt said:
Also where is your banner from I know this art style and can't place the manga??

I doubt that most people will know what manga the banner image is from given how barely 700 people have read it according to this website. It's from Moyori Mori's "Touch Within the Abyss."
Jun 13, 2023 1:25 AM

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Nov 2018
352
Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction is a masterfully subversive manga that paints the government and much of human society in general as the illogical and self-destructive farce that it is. It's a slow-burn mind f*ck of a story. Although this is a terrible scan, the artwork in this manga is stunning.





MeltingSkyJun 13, 2023 1:31 AM
Jun 13, 2023 8:52 AM

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Nov 2018
352
Lkkoll said:
MeltingSky said:
Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction is a masterfully subversive manga that paints the government and much of human society in general as the illogical and self-destructive farce that it is. It's a slow-burn mind f*ck of a story. Although this is a terrible scan, the artwork in this manga is stunning.







...............................................


Poe's Law at work. I can't tell if you are in on the joke or not. Are you poking fun of edge lord stories and characters the same way Dead Dead Demons is here, or are you just clueless about the source material or better yet are you calling me an edge lord? If it's the latter then thank you because, for a brief moment, you made me feel young again. Do you have any idea how many decades it's been since somebody called me an edge lord? Thanks, kiddo.

PS: I know you are brand new to the forums, but as a general of thumb you shouldn't waste people's screen space with images that are the size of houses. There is a little convenient option in the create an image link function where you can resize the pic with like 3 keystrokes and a single mouse click.
MeltingSkyJun 13, 2023 9:06 AM
Jun 13, 2023 9:12 AM

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Nov 2018
352
Sffftg said:
MeltingSky said:


Poe's Law at work. I can't tell if you are in on the joke or not. Are you poking fun of edge lord stories the same way Dead Dead Demons is here, or are you just clueless about the source material or better yet are you calling me an edge lord? If it's the latter then thank you because, for a brief moment, you made me feel young again. Do you have any idea how many decades it's been since somebody called me an edge lord? Thanks, kiddo.

PS: I know you are brand new to the forums, but as a general of thumb you shouldn't waste people's screen space with images that are the size of houses. There is a little convenient option in the create an image link function where you can resize the pic with like 3 keystrokes and a single mouse click.


Were you born retarded or have you perfected being one in your lifetime? This thread is comedy gold all the same.


Another brand new account that responded with low-effort trolling seconds later which appears to be paired with that other almost identical account above...

That explains everything. You are either a troll bot, or even more pathetic, a very simple and sad little human that was so generic in their attempts at trolling that they could be mistaken for one.

Edit: Since the trolling seems to have disrupted the thread, here's another recommendation to get things on track again.

Dorohedoro
Shimoneta
Psycho Pass
Sabikui Bisco
Princess Mononoke
MeltingSkyJun 14, 2023 2:55 PM
Oct 18, 6:34 AM

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Oct 2023
9
I'm surprised no one has mentioned One Piece yet; it fits perfectly.
Oct 18, 4:25 PM

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Jan 2022
1609
Meiji Gekken: 1874

Babylon

Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions

KochiKame

B: The Beginning

Psycho-Pass

Angel Cop

Gunsmith Cats

Batman: Gotham Knight

Sushi Police

Cyber City OEDO 808
Oct 18, 4:53 PM

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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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