Heartbreak songs to listen to at the end of summer. Classic and popular summer tracks.

left-right confusionYorushika

Yorushika – Left-Right Blindness (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

This is a song that Yorushika released digitally in July 2022.

Many of you may know it as the theme song for the film Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight.

Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince, the piece beautifully captures the painful emotions of a protagonist whose memories with a loved one are gradually fading.

n-buna’s delicate lyrics and suis’s clear, translucent vocals gently envelop the lingering melancholy of a bittersweet love.

It’s a heartfelt ballad I recommend not only to those who have seen the film, but also to those who haven’t.

Tears of Tropical FishFlower

Flower “Tropical Fish’s Tears” — 2nd album “Hanadokei (Flower Clock)” out March 4

A Flower song marked by a dreamlike sound that feels as if you’re underwater.

Its poetic lyrics liken the ache of unrequited love to a fish drifting in an aquarium, reflecting the protagonist’s heartache and resonating deeply with listeners.

Released in June 2014 as their seventh single, the track was later included on the album Hanadokei.

On summer evenings, when a sudden loneliness arrives or on nights when you want to sink into a sentimental mood, this song will quietly stay by your side.

Its bittersweet yet somehow warm melody will gently wrap your heart.

the sixteenth-night moonw-inds.

Izayoi Moon (MUSIC VIDEO Full ver.) / w-inds.

This is “Izayoi no Tsuki,” the 16th single released in 2005 by the boys’ dance unit w-inds.

“Izayoi no tsuki” refers to the moon on the night after the full moon, when moonrise comes a bit later; it also signifies the day following the Mid-Autumn Moon.

Drawing on that imagery, the song portrays the bittersweet feeling of a love that seems destined to end with the close of summer—loving someone who may already have someone else.

It’s a poignant track best listened to as autumn gradually deepens.

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Kado(guchi) Shichigatsu

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Only youKōda Kumi

Koda Kumi / “Only You” (from the new album “WINTER of LOVE”)

Speaking of Koda Kumi, her energetic, upbeat songs are popular, but ballads like this one are also deeply moving, aren’t they? Even when your head knows, “This love is already over…,” your heart can’t quite sort itself out, and you end up wanting to see that person—something anyone who’s experienced heartbreak can relate to.

It’s a masterpiece that captures those helplessly sad, heartrending emotions.

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Hane Keisuke

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At the end of summerT-BOLAN

At the end of summer

T-BOLAN’s contributions are indispensable when discussing the J-POP scene of the ’90s.

While their hallmark is passionate rock ballads, they also have masterpieces that quietly seep into the heart.

This work sets the loneliness that creeps in at summer’s end and the helpless feelings toward a love that has passed onto an acoustic soundscape.

Rather than belting it out, the restrained vocals make each word stand out, all the more highlighting the protagonist’s bittersweet emotions.

This track is included on the band’s first acoustic release, the album “Natsu no Owari ni ~Acoustic Version~,” released in September 1992.

It’s a gem of a ballad—perhaps a little different from the songs you’d belt out at karaoke—that you’ll want to listen to intently while lost in thought on a summer evening.

Fireworks in Augustmurasaki ima

Fireworks in August

It’s an emotionally rich ballad that gently stays by your side through that indescribable loneliness at summer’s end.

Composed by Shikon, it was released in August 2025.

The fleeting fireworks that bloom and fade in the night sky are layered with memories of a summer that will never return.

Her signature husky vocals intertwine with the mellow melody, tightening something deep in the listener’s chest.

On a night after the bustle has faded, try listening in quiet solitude, lost in thought.

cotton candyback number

back number – Watagashi (full)

Released by back number in 2012, this song became explosively popular, especially among junior high and high school students.

It features the band’s hallmark and charm: realistic, concrete scene descriptions and the feelings of a somewhat shy male protagonist.

Listening to this track makes you want to go to a summer festival! And am I the only one who finds myself rooting for the guy in the song with those emotions? After listening, why not invite the person you’re interested in to a summer festival?

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Kanako

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