Ningen Shikkaku/人間失格/ No Longer Human

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I've read confessions of a mask and I felt that there were some similarities; I also wholeheartedly recommend it since I found it to be quite an interesting read.

Schoolgirl was so good, definitely my favorite by him too.

I read through that book in 2 nights. Really just drew me in completely, I felt like the author was pouring his heart out in a way that people don't seem to understand sometimes

I read the manga

Neon Genesis Evangelion

I read no longer human in junior year of high school when I started having serious suicidal thoughts

I read the Setting Sun and I liked it, though it wasn't my favorite 20th century Japanese novel.

I really loved this one, Masks by Fumiko Enchi. I found it to be highly erotic, and the fact that it's written by a woman made it all the more stimulating to me, I guess because it makes me think that the encounters depicted aren't purely a fantasy of man's mind.

I want to read more by her but only a few other books by her have been translated, and I haven't gotten ahold of any of those just yet.

Mishima, the Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea was good too.

All She Was Worth by Miyuki Miyabe was good too, not as "literary" as the other books mentioned here, but it seems to give some insight into how debt and the Yakuza do things in Japan. I guess I don't know to what extent it's a realistic depiction of that, but it's interesting in any case.

But my favorite author of all is Haruki Murakami. If you haven't read anything by him, I suppose Wind-up Bird Chronicle is a good enough place to start. A lot of interesting historical stuff in that one. Kafka on the Shore is good too, especially for young men, I think. And Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is pretty strange, but very good. I think it largely inspired the guys who designed the setting and plot in Legend of Zelda, Majora's Mask. At least there's a lot of striking similarities.

Finally, if you're a weeb like me, you might also enjoy Number 9 Dream by David Mitchell. It's largely inspired by Murakami's work and takes place in Japan, although it's written by a brit bong.

Dazai is probably my third favourite Japanese writer. (After Akutagawa and Kawabata)
No Longer Human is a pretty neat work. I like how he conveys his lack of understanding as to "why" we must interact with society.

As for recommendations, I wholeheartedly recommend Akutagawa's novellas.
Especially "Mori Sensei", which I hold dearly for it's adult reflection on teachers.

I recently read it in a couple of nights, it was really interesting. As someone said, the author has precise writing style. Also, I know a lot of people who would identify with some experiences of the protagonist. I'd like to ask,if somebody else noticed something: the protagonist kept on seeing individual faults when there was systematic failure.

It’s a human thing to point at something and say
>THAT! That is why I failed!
Instead of examining cause and effect.

What was your guys' favorite part? I like the part where Oba and his friend were arguing on the rooftop while his wife was getting raped below.

I liked the master of go and pretty much everything I've read by Mishima.