My heart aches with bittersweet pain! Breakup songs I’d recommend to Gen Z
Timeless masterpieces about heartbreak have always existed in the J-POP scene.Listening can heal you, make you empathize without even realizing it, or even let you dive headfirst into your sadness—love and music are deeply connected, aren’t they?So this time, we’re introducing heartbreak songs we recommend for Gen Z!From well-known hits to hidden gems, we hope you’ll find tracks that resonate with you.
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My chest tightens with heartbreak! Breakup songs I want to recommend to Gen Z (21–30)
one grainwacci
A ballad that wraps the meaning of tears shed at the moment of parting in the tones of piano and strings.
Written and composed by Yohei Hashiguchi and arranged by Hajime Inaba, the single “Hitotsubu,” released in October 2025, explores the end of a romance.
The lyrics are superb, imbuing each individual tear with a different emotion, and the way farewells, memories, a protected future, and a lost everyday life intersect is truly moving.
If you’ve recently gone through a breakup, this one will hit you hard.
Stop this nightJUJU
This work delicately depicts that bittersweet moment when, on a night heavy with the sense of an impending breakup, the other person’s words of love only deepen the sorrow.
JUJU’s translucent vocals and the piano-centered arrangement gently draw out the unspoken tremors of the heart.
Released in November 2010, it gained attention as the theme song for the TV drama “Guilty: The Woman Who Made a Pact with the Devil.” It peaked at No.
10 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and was selected for the Excellence Award at the 53rd Japan Record Awards.
Many listeners will relate to the heart that can’t accept the end and the wish for time to stop.
It’s a song that quietly stays by your side when you’re carrying the pain of heartbreak.
My heart aches with bittersweet pain! Breakup songs recommended for Gen Z (31–40)
Even though she won’t be my girlfriend anymorewacci
Wacci is a five-member band beloved by many listeners for their down-to-earth, relatable lyrics and warm melodies.
Released digitally in September 2025, “Even Though She Won’t Be My Girlfriend Anymore” is a song that portrays the conflicted emotions of having to choose to part ways while still holding on to feelings of love.
Its lyrics—mixing gratitude, regret, and a resolve for the future at the very moment a romantic relationship ends—will likely resonate deeply with anyone who has experienced a breakup.
Yohei Hashiguchi’s sincere vocals, paired with an arrangement that blends the band’s sound with sweeping strings, gently envelop the story as it unfolds.
beetle (specifically, a rhinoceros beetle)aiko
It’s a song by aiko that portrays a delicate heart: identifying with an insect that protects itself with a hard shell yet is fragile inside, and acting tough precisely because it’s in love.
Like that insect that cannot survive the winter, the song foresees the end of love, yet its deep affection moves you as it tries to accept even the sadness as a cherished memory.
Released in November 1999, it was also used as the ending theme for TBS’s CDTV.
If you’ve ever found yourself putting on a brave front in front of someone you like, you’ll understand this all too well! As you listen, may you embrace that awkwardness as a part of yourself and find the courage to step forward into tomorrow.
In that casemakaroni enpitsu
A narrative masterpiece by Macaroni Enpitsu that wraps a bittersweet longing for love in the refreshing tones of guitar and synthesizer.
While gently embracing the pain of heartbreak, the unshaken desire to believe in the other person’s dreams stirs the heart.
The melodic lines and Hattori’s emotionally rich vocals beautifully capture the warmth and ache of youth.
Released in January 2025 as the opening theme for the second cour of the TV anime Blue Box, it weaves unattainable love and a growing inner world together with the anime’s atmosphere.
A gem of a song that stands with everyone who knows the joy of love and the pain of heartbreak, soothing the soul.
periodIkuta Erika
Erika Ikuta captivates many with her overwhelming expressive power.
Released in September 2025, this work is a ballad that portrays the resolve to bring a long-standing romance to an end by one’s own choice, and the bittersweet determination to move forward.
The struggle over whether to continue or to let go is depicted with striking realism, and it really hits home.
If you’ve ever made a major decision in love, you’ll likely feel a deep empathy for that pain.
With delicate piano lines and breath-like vocals that gently nestle close to your heart, it’s a sentimental track.
Please forget it.Yorushika
It’s a heartbreak song by Yorushika that tightens your chest with its bittersweet love—the kind that wishes happiness for an ex while saying “please forget me.” Released in July 2024 as the theme song for the drama “GO HOME: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Unidentified Persons Consultation Office,” the track sets gentle melodies against a narrator who recalls precious memories they shared, even as they wish those memories to be forgotten.
Yet behind those words lies the true feeling of “please don’t actually forget,” a confession that’s sure to loosen your tear ducts.
Vocalist suis’s clear, translucent voice conveys this self-sacrificial and contradictory form of love with painfully delicate nuance.
On nights when you want to face the pain of heartbreak alone, listening to this song will feel as if it speaks for you and quietly stays by your side.