Masterpiece! Tear-jerking breakup songs by Japanese bands
Introducing a carefully curated selection of tear-jerking breakup songs from Japanese bands!
Love is fun in any era, but once you experience a breakup, even the happy memories can become painful to recall.
Not many people choose band songs when they’re heartbroken, but I’ve gathered some recommendations—so take this chance to give them a listen.
I focused on popular artists to make the picks easy to enjoy, even for those who don’t usually listen to band music.
You might even find that song you’ve been curious about!
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[Masterpiece!] Tear-Jerking Breakup Songs by Japanese Bands (1–10)
PretenderOfisharu Higedan Dism
This is “Pretender” by Official HIGE DANDism, which also became a hot topic as the theme song for the film Confidence Man JP.
It’s a heartbreak song in which the narrator feels they’re not the one who should be by the person they love, and so they say goodbye.
How painful and difficult must it be to end your own love by choice? The feelings of loving the other person and truly not wanting to part come through with heartbreaking clarity.
Hand in handkuriipuhaipe
“Te to Te” (“Hand in Hand”) is one of CreepHyp’s signature songs—a heartbreak ballad that depicts a man’s aching feelings for the girlfriend he’s lost.
After the breakup, he realizes the importance of the person who used to be by his side every day, and the song makes you feel that even just holding hands was enough to make you happy.
It’s a track that’s impossible to listen to without tears.
Impersonationkuriipuhaipe
CreepHyp’s “Monomane,” released digitally in 2020.
This song also served as the theme for the animated film “A Whisker Away,” and CreepHyp produced the music for the film as a whole.
At first listen it might seem like a fun, happy love song, but it’s actually a breakup song, looking back and weaving through various feelings after the relationship ends.
In fact, the track is a sequel to CreepHyp’s 2009 release “Boys END Girls.” While “Boys END Girls” is a love song about a happy couple, “Monomane” is sung from the perspective of someone left alone after the breakup.
Be sure to listen to “Boys END Girls” as well.
[Masterpiece!] Tear-Jerking Breakup Songs by Japanese Bands (11–20)
I miss youUVERworld
It’s a heartbreak rock ballad that sings, “Even though my days are busy and fun, I just can’t forget you.” It’s a song by the popular mixture rock band UVERworld, released in 2008 as their 11th single.
The sweet, fleeting vocals seem to deepen the song’s message.
Before you know it, your eyes grow hot.
The lyrics express a heart sinking into regret, and the sheer sadness makes your chest ache.
BYE BYESHISHAMO
A bittersweet yet somehow bright rock tune that depicts the state of being down after a broken heart.
When you get your heart broken, you can feel like you can’t trust anything anymore.
You might even snap and just say “to hell with it!” The song also voices the desire to say goodbye to the version of yourself that’s still stuck in the past, and SHISHAMO’s sound and vocals give you courage.
Partings are sad, but they’re also the next step, right? After you have a good, cleansing cry with this song, a new you is sure to be waiting.
You’ve got this!
playing loversmakaroni enpitsu
This is the first indie, digital-only single by the four-piece rock band Macaroni Empitsu, who are especially popular among younger listeners for their high musicality, including rapidly unfolding arrangements and catchy melodies.
Released as a tie-in song for a special collaboration with Honda, “Bike ni Notchau? MUSIC FES.,” its lyrics evoke a fleeting, momentary kind of love that tightens your chest.
The sentimental feelings when a relationship—carried on despite an awareness that it would end—finally comes to a close will likely leave listeners heartsick, whether they’ve experienced it or not.
It’s a lyrical number whose slightly loose ensemble mirrors the story told in the lyrics.
I meet peopleMrs. GREEN APPLE
A song by the three-piece rock band Mrs.
GREEN APPLE included on their second mini-album, “Progressive.” The title is a Chinese word pronounced “Gahoujin,” meaning an encounter between people, and its brisk arrangement featuring funky guitar cutting really lifts your spirits.
The lyrics, which imagine the happiness of a once-precious person you’ve parted from and the world that lies beyond, connect with a melody tinged with melancholy beneath its refreshment, tightening your chest.
It’s a breakup masterpiece that evokes a nostalgic longing for a bright future.