[Unrequited Love] Heart-wrenching Love Songs | A Roundup of Tear-Inducing Crush and Breakup Tracks

Love even your melancholyKoresawa

Koresawa “Love Even the Melancholy” [Music Video]

A heartwarming pop tune by Koresawa that delicately portrays the feelings of a girl living with the negative emotions everyone experiences.

Released in August 2020, this first single is a re-recording of a song long regarded as a legendary hidden gem.

Set to a gentle, acoustic guitar–driven sound, it conveys the strength to move forward while harboring vague anxieties and loneliness—and learning to accept them.

It’s the perfect track for anyone who resonates with the stance of not denying any feeling but choosing to love them, or for those who want to keep looking ahead even while carrying a touch of melancholy.

I didn’t want to know, if it meant losing it.atarayo

Atarayo – “I Didn’t Want to Know, If It Meant Losing You” (Music Video)

This piece delicately portrays the turmoil of a woman who realizes that every “word” from the lover she’s supposed to be in love with is a flimsy lie.

She wants to believe but can’t; she doesn’t want to lose them, yet being together only makes it hurt more.

These tangled emotions resonate alongside Atarayo’s urbane sound.

Released in January 2022 and included on their first album, “In the Polar Night, the Moon Remains Silent,” the song emerged from a collaboration with Junwaidan.

It’s a highly relatable track that offers solace to those exhausted by the effort of trusting a partner, and to those who had no choice but to part ways with someone they love.

Act like an adult.suisou gurashi

Suisougurashi “Pretending to Be Grown-Up.” Official Music Video

A bittersweet love song that portrays the complex emotions of a woman who goes to meet someone on the last train at midnight.

Released by Suisougurashi in March 2022, the song delicately captures the feelings of a woman swept up in an adult romance.

Set to jazzy sounds and a catchy melody, it vividly depicts her inner conflict as she keeps the relationship going by hiding her true self to suit the other person’s convenience.

With a clear, translucent vocal, it expresses a woman wavering between her straightforward affection and the anxiety of losing her sense of self.

A song that offers comfort to those hurting from unrequited love or heartbreak.

My dearest personMatsuri, Takumi

One I Loved / Matsuri, Takumi [Official Music Video]

A beautiful collaborative piece by Matsuri and Takumi that sings of poignant scenes and an unattainable love.

Accompanied by skillful piano melodies, it’s a pure love story-song that wistfully asks, “If only I could go back to the past,” and longs for a love that has been lost.

That day you met, the kindness you shared, the tears you shed—precious memories are depicted in a way that tightens the chest and sinks deeply into the listener’s heart.

Released in November 2023, this work offers solace to those whose relationship with someone they loved has ended and who still can’t make sense of their feelings.

It’s a song you’ll want to keep close for quiet nights alone, when you’re ready to face the pain of love.

just a littleIgarashi Haru

Haru Igarashi – A Little (Official Music Video)

A song whose heartrending, soul-stirring vocals move every listener.

With delicate wording, it weaves a poignant love swayed by the whims of fate—encounters that come at the wrong time.

Haru Igarashi is a singer-songwriter with the unusual background of being a former police officer.

Released in March 2024, this work has drawn major attention, topping the Billboard JAPAN Heatseekers Songs chart for two consecutive weeks.

The line about pretending to like what the other person likes just to stay by their side is so earnest it tightens the chest.

Tokyo Double SuicideAzusagawa

Tokyo Shinju / Azusagawa [Official Music Video]

A track that grips the heart with the cries of souls seeking salvation in a dark, cold metropolis.

While seething with fierce anger and nihilism toward modern society, the protagonist’s hunger for true love is woven with powerful lyricism.

Released as a digital single in September 2024, this work was carefully crafted over the course of more than a year through the collaboration of Ms.

Azusagawa and Mr.

Yoshihisa Hirata, with whom she has long been acquainted.

Set against the backdrop of a ruined Tokyo night, this love story will quietly and deeply resonate with those who feel loneliness and emptiness in the city.

LiarUeto Aya

Aya Ueto - Usotsuki

Aya Ueto delivers a moving song that delicately portrays a person trying to move forward after a breakup while hiding their true feelings.

The folkloric, wistful melody and her clear, translucent voice vividly express the emotions of someone putting on a brave face yet still thinking of their former partner.

Released in November 2004 as Ueto’s 10th single, the song was written and composed by Tetsurō Oda and included on the album “Re.” It’s a track that many who are striving to stay positive after heartbreak—while keeping their deepest feelings hidden—will deeply relate to.

Her vocals convey both strength and aching tenderness, sure to leave your heart feeling warm.