the problem that lies with contemporary Japanese culture is the difficulty to define the form of an effective weapon that embodies new heroic ideal for the new age.
first and foremost, there was the jealousy for the historically privileged samurai class, and hence the obsession with swords instead of any other weapons.
 the antipathy towards firearms for being a weapon of the alien west and a weapon without honour or more accurately prestige inferred by samurai class.
then there was the envy for the technical prowess of the western powers, and the power of industry and science which could redefine social constructs, ideals, and empower an individual more than what the ancient feudal class system allows. therefore the obsession with machines, knowledge, fictious science. this is a craving for power more than drive by curiosity. there is an interplay between the good of technology, science against brutal elements or one's own nation's technological and scientifical progress against that of other races. not very dissimilar to Anglo-American obsession of star wars and doctor who. (jealousy of the common class for their masters who graduate from best STEM colleges working the best technological jobs and controlling how society works, along with hated plutocrats. though they assume knowledge is worth more than money at the end) the older doctor series though, has more introspection towards science and its place in history than power fantasy over aliens or against aliens.
and there is also the obsession of linguistic truth, the right of speech by talking the right things, and the craving for any kind of wisdom to stand against social problems. a pathos for truth as ultimate moral against fear of ignorance. however this does not directly lead to many artistic creations that drive one to seek truth in religion, philosophy or poetry itself, but more often lead to creation of morsels or fodder that satisfy the hunger of ignorance. Detective novels. Human drama. Neon Genesis Evangelion. Monogatari series. and visual novels teaching life lessons.
The revealed lesson or detected facts serve as the weapon here. Most of time irrelevant but to the social symptom it reflects like a mirror. This is a weapon made of wounds and complaints. In other words this weapon is but personal opinions.
Most tiring and vapid are those and their opinions. It did not drive me to reflection nor empathy for human condition, nor reveal much universal truth but the frustration and anxiety of the Japanese people in modern age. One must not allow emotions such as these cloud over judgement over philosophical truth.
Sometimes you do find in erotic art and games surprising self-reflections and philosophizings over the seemingly trivial.
the creativity and self-introspection of some doujin works are note-worthy.
Eroticism is after all the closest sentiment to the religious or philosophical universal affirmation of human values.
there is still some worth in some dross erotic creations and doujin works that do nothing but invoke despair and fear of impotence. 
but above all it is hard to find works that seek remedy in sorrow. I guess self-found solace would seem rather weak when many things are more down-to-earth here in the east. and time being what it is.
a plotting, thinking, and acting heroic ideal of just vengeance through fearless fighting against adversities are direly needed here. heroism of a more serpentine kind is good for a people that craves for the energy in heroic actions instead of prayers and forbearance. Kaiba Seto.
hero here must think fast, act faster. better to carry a knife than a sword. 
a sword carries too much hypocritical pathos of the samurai class. this means servitude and fear of retribution from higher authorities.
but it is not rare to see samurai fights for ambition. overall it is too dull. I despise the likes of Nobunaga and all other warlords of yore. petty monkeys and their obsession over land ownership, women and their abhorrence against western powers. sword is dull through and through.
knife is better used as a tool of trade, a surgical messer perhaps.
as there is also the dire need for medicine in the east. the hollow cant of Christianity in its decayed form serves to detract from the effort to earn spiritual independence and drive towards realisation of true Willpower. Just take a look at Fate / Stay Night and the ghost of feudal West under the Cross it conjures up. Now it is sold to the highest bidder and concerns more with the enjoyment of the flesh over spirit now (Fate gacha whatever you call it). A natural decay in imitation of the western society. 
Again Seven Samurai has probably most important things about the troubles Japan is facing now right. Especially the part about heroism and the lack of the proper expression of heroic form in society. Sword is neither worth more than a spectacle nor a toy, and cannot be used to solve problems with farming and trading, and declining birthrate after all. (this requires a surgical messer that investigates the problems in the body. not a sword that cuts through it. troubles will always return if it is not controlled through science but temporarily disenabled by might.)
Gundam is dull too.
I derive most joy though, from Steins Gate, Memories off 5, kemono friends, kemurikusa, Un-Go. there is a sort of questing happiness of old chivalry spirit here. and some good introspection. 
touhou is sublime in its own right. this is some universal poetry and music drama that do not concern itself with the weakness of heroes too much. it is though highest form of tragic art and appreciation to pathos of the creative and imaginary (and especially the lamentation part). it has also found its own society to express its Will against, in good measure, the contemporary Zeitgeist which is too emasculated and troubled to appreciate poetic sentiment of this kind. Good thing it is rarely seen in the west. Lest public poets, fishwives, ideological apologists, and grown schoolchildren ruin it. Bloody Englishmen and Americans.