A famous song about setbacks. A song that stays by your side when times are tough or you feel like giving up.

If I had been living aloneSUPER BEAVER

SUPER BEAVER "If I Had Lived Alone" MV

A gem of a medium-tempo ballad that vividly portrays the joy and frustration we feel through our connections with others.

Included on SUPER BEAVER’s single “Highlight/Hitoride Ikiteita Naraba,” released in June 2020, this track was chosen as the theme song for the film Water Ribbon, starring Ayami Nakajo.

With delicate instrumentation and an emotive vocal performance, the melody gently sings of the importance of bonds with others and mutual support.

It’s a song that stays close to your heart when you want to reflect on what it means to live true to yourself and to find the courage to overcome setbacks.

AkariMy Hair is Bad

Akari

A gem of a song that captures the feelings of people who keep fighting hard even while weary from everyday life.

Included on My Hair is Bad’s album “ghosts,” released in July 2024, this track vividly portrays the inner heart that puts on a brave face while harboring weakness, along with the will to move forward nonetheless.

Emotional guitar tones and powerful vocals gently embrace the emotions deep within.

The album “ghosts” also features the theme song for the film “Crayon Shin-chan: Our Dinosaur Diary” and the official theme for the 96th Senbatsu as presented by MBS.

When work or relationships weigh on you and your heart feels like it might break, this song will be by your side and help you take a step toward tomorrow.

Whether crying or laughingKetsumeishi

Ketsumeishi “Even If You Cry or Laugh” Music Video

This Ketsumeishi song is a gem that powerfully sings about overcoming setbacks.

It’s included on the album “Ketsuno Police 10” and was released in October 2016.

It was also used as the theme song for the drama “6-Byōkan no Kiseki: Hanabishi Mochizuki Seitarō no Yūutsu” (A Six-Second Miracle: The Melancholy of Fireworks Artisan Seitaro Mochizuki).

The lyrics are striking in the way they teach the importance of accepting your true feelings—both in happy times and in hard times—as you live your life.

Like a flower that shines across the seasons, it expresses both the beauty and the transience of life.

As you listen, don’t you start to feel like you can accept every version of yourself? Give it a spin when you want to face forward and take that first step.

To Us Who Were Once GeniusesCreepy Nuts

[MV] Creepy Nuts – To Us Who Were Once Geniuses

A warm, encouraging song by Creepy Nuts that powerfully portrays the potential for genius everyone once had and the individuality that gets lost within society.

It’s a track from their second major album, “To Us Who Were Once Geniuses,” and was released to the world in August 2020 as the TV commercial song for Teikyo Heisei University.

Riding on a hip-hop rhythm, it carefully depicts the limitless possibilities everyone had in childhood and the purity that fades as we grow up, while delivering a message to keep looking forward without giving up.

When you feel crushed by social pressure or self-doubt, listening to this song will surely give you the courage to take a new step forward.

Naming the waves, and that our breathing has an end.Kitanitatsuya

To give names to waves, and that our breathing has an end. / Tatsuya Kitani – You Would Name Pale Waves / Tatsuya Kitani

This is a stirring ballad by Tatsuya Kitani that portrays the transience of life and love.

Featured on the album “I DO (NOT) LOVE YOU.),” the song delicately captures the feelings of someone who continues to question the meaning of living amid days that repeat like waves.

Its serene sound, infused with post-rock elements, harmonizes beautifully with lyrics steeped in deep philosophical insight, offering gentle solace to listeners.

Released in April 2018, this gem warmly embraces anyone facing loss or loneliness.

If you feel you can’t find your place, or you’re on the verge of losing sight of life’s meaning, this is a song you should definitely hear.

Yours sincerelyrokudenashi

Good-for-Nothing “Hastily, Without Formalities” / Rokudenashi – Sincerely Yours [Official Music Video]

An emotionally charged vocal performance and delicate composition weave together to create a moving number.

It’s a work by Rokudenashi, released in November 2024.

The song was also chosen as the theme for episode 2 of the live-action drama Oshi no Ko.

The lyrics deftly capture the protagonist’s inner conflict and growth, offering a chance to reflect on the self that has kept striving for someone else’s sake.

You’ll likely resonate with the determination to move forward while carrying past wounds.

It’s a track that gently stays by the side of anyone in the midst of searching for themselves.

I don’t mind being unhappy for the rest of my life.mafumafu

I don’t mind being unhappy for the rest of my life – Mafumafu

Mafumafu’s songs, whose lyrics both confront reality and simply stay by your side, really resonate.

Announced after about a year-long hiatus, the message of this work saves us when we’re on the verge of giving up or facing defeat.

There’s nothing more unbearable than the sense of powerlessness that you can’t do anything by your own strength, and the words that convey deep despair and worthlessness really hit home.

While facing hardships and challenges, the song expresses both the strong will to overcome them and a sense of vulnerability, evoking deep empathy in listeners.

The background that it was produced during the hiatus that began in June 2022 also adds weight to the piece.