A song of forbidden love. A heartrending, sorrowful love song.

sunflowerSEKAI NO OWARI

Himawari

The protagonist, who had been living in a dark world, ends up meeting “you,” someone dazzling like the sun—the beginning of a forbidden love as sung by SEKAI NO OWARI.

Listening to this song, you can feel that bittersweet thrill of knowing the person is off-limits, yet realizing thanks to them your world is starting to gain color.

Maybe it’s precisely because the melody is light and pop that it tightens your chest even more.

This track is included on the acclaimed album “Lip,” which topped the Oricon charts in February 2019.

It’s a song that gently stays with you in that helpless rush of feelings at the moment you fall in love, even when you know it won’t be returned.

In loveNEW!HY

HY - “In Love” (Theme song for the film ‘366 Days’) Music Video

A jewel-like ballad that gives you the courage to take one step forward from the depths of sorrow at the end of a secret love you can’t tell anyone about.

HY, a band from Okinawa, wrote it as the theme song for the film “366 Days,” released in January 2025.

The track was released in December 2024 and is also included on the album “TIME,” which came out in January 2025.

Created as an answer song 16 years after the masterpiece “366 Days,” which etched the pain of unrequited love, this work features beautiful male and female harmonies that resonate together, gently affirming that even deeply wounding experiences have meaning.

It’s a song that will likely resonate with those who, while carrying the memories of a love that brought no reward, are trying to face forward and start walking again.

A Kiss of Affected SplendorNEW!shallm

[shallm] Kiss of Pretenses (Music Video) – Opening theme for the nationwide Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV Thursday drama “Love Prohibited”

A song you’ll want to listen to on nights when you’re tormented by relationships that can’t be smoothed over with pretty words and emotions you can’t show anyone.

Set to a thrilling arrangement that fuses jazz and rock, it portrays the true feelings behind superficial words and the aching emotions you long to say but can’t.

This track was released in July 2025 by shallm, who had put out the album “charme” in October 2024.

It was written as the opening theme for the Thursday drama “Love Prohibited.” Give it a listen when you’re lost in the fate of an unattainable love and wishing someone would quietly stay by your side.

I’ll take it to the grave.NEW!Arukosaito

AlcoSite “I’ll Take It to the Grave” Music Video

A heartbreaking rock ballad about the end of a secret love that can’t be told to anyone, and the resolve to bury those memories deep within and keep living.

Vivid, lifelike scenes—evoking the air of everyday life and platforms of Kansai train stations—heighten the reality of an unattainable love and tighten the chest.

This song is a signature work by Arcosite, included on the album “Until It Becomes a Memory,” released in March 2022.

It later resonated widely on social media, becoming a major topic in 2023 as its annual streams surged.

Blending quiet sorrow with the unique intensity of a band, this piece will surely stay close on nights when you struggle with an unrequited relationship and want to weep alone in silence.

From the season that feels like it will freezeNEW!Aimer

Aimer “From the Freezing Season” — Opening theme for TV Asahi’s Friday Night Drama ‘Stealing Love, Winter’

A winter song by Aimer that sings of a poignant heart trapped in an irreversible flow of time amid an icy cold.

Released in February 2017, it was chosen as the opening theme for the TV drama “Love Theft, Winter,” whose love-and-hate twists drew much attention.

An extended version was later included on her best album “BEST SELECTION ‘noir,’” and this work stands as a symbol of the darker side of her discography that carves deeply into the emotions.

Even knowing it won’t be rewarded, one cannot sever the obsession and lingering attachment that continue to burn deep inside.

It’s a quiet companion for those who bear the pain of a secret love they cannot tell anyone about.

I like indigo.NEW!indigo la End

indigo la End – Love for Indigo

This song portrays the frustration of being stuck in an ambiguous relationship, unable to get closer or farther apart.

The nocturnal atmosphere that seems to conjure vivid scenes—crafted by Enon Kawatani—and the supple band ensemble beautifully color the aching feelings of love.

Released digitally in advance in May 2016 and included the following month as the opening track of indigo la End’s album “Aiiro Music,” it expresses not a dramatic confession or ending, but those inexplicable emotions that linger right beside everyday life.

It may resonate with those harboring a secret love they can’t tell anyone about, or those troubled by an unattainable romance.

FUCK LOVENEW!chanmina

FUCK LOVE

A poignant track that bares a wounded heart and loneliness behind the tough front of “I don’t need love.” It’s a song by Chanmina, who showcases a wide range of expression as both a rapper and a singer.

It’s included on her fourth album, “Naked,” released in April 2023.

The piece powerfully conveys the raw feeling—akin to resignation—that lurks behind aggressive words, a sense of “whatever happens, happens.” If you’re exhausted by a futureless, secret relationship yet still unable to cut ties and struggling with those lingering feelings, give it a listen.

It’s sure to resonate deeply with the pain of an unrequited love.