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

A night when I want to cryAYANE

AYANE / A Night I Want to Cry (Lyric Video)

A song that vividly captures the emotional sway between a love that you know won’t come true yet only grows stronger, and the wish to keep looking forward.

With down-to-earth words, AYANE weaves lyrics that struggle through loneliness and inner conflict while yearning to “become stronger,” striking deep into hearts troubled by love with no place to go.

It’s a pop ballad.

Released in July 2022, this work became a signature piece that led into the following year’s acclaimed album, #Twenty.

On nights when a secret relationship feels like it might crush you, when the loneliness is unbearable, this song will quietly stay by your side.

AloneMayo Okamoto

Mayo Okamoto — alone

A gently woven ballad that carries hidden feelings along with a piano melody.

Released by Mayo Okamoto in November 1996, this song portrays the heartrending emotions of a woman whose boyfriend is taken by her close friend.

Though she puts on a brave face and smiles for those around her, she continues to carry loneliness in her heart.

The pain she feels upon glimpsing the couple by chance on a station platform, and her yearning not for sympathy but for true love, are expressed with delicate nuance.

This piece is a long-cherished ballad she had nurtured since before her debut.

It’s a song that quietly stays by the side of anyone trying to look forward while bearing the pain of heartbreak.

The Story You Don’t Knowsupercell

Lia / The Story You Don't Know [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

It’s the song used as the ending theme for the anime Bakemonogatari.

The lyrics, which portray a girl suffering from an unrequited love she knows will never come true and can’t bring herself to confess, are utterly heartbreaking.

The beauty of the piano lines and the melody enhances that feeling even more.

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sasashina

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My name is Unrequited Loveindigo la End

indigo la End "The Name Is Unrequited Love"

Formed around Enon Kawatani and making their major-label debut on the same day as Gesu no Kiwami Otome, indigo la End is a four-piece rock band.

Their 20th major-label single, “Namae wa Kataomoi” (“Her Name Is Unrequited Love”), leaves an impression with an ensemble that moves from an atmospheric, hooky intro into a verse featuring a sprightly piano.

The lyrics, which evoke someone keeping a subtle distance while stepping back for the other’s sake, convey the frustration of feelings that can’t be satisfied by love alone.

It’s a brisk yet somehow wistful, sentimental number.

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Hoshino Takashi

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I could never say I like you.fayray

Fayray – I Can’t Say I Love You

A single with a haunting, bittersweet melody that captures the heart.

It delicately weaves the inner conflict of a woman who loves someone but cannot convey her feelings.

She fears that confessing might ruin their relationship, yet she still wishes to walk together into a future ten years from now.

Fayray’s clear, crystalline vocals heighten the sense of longing.

Released in January 2003, this song was chosen as the theme for the drama “Message: Words Will Betray You.” It gently stays close to those who suffer from a hidden love.

You look like an idiot.Saucy Dog

Saucy Dog “Like a Fool.” Music Video (Theme song for ABEMA’s “You Can’t Fool Me, Mr. Wolf”)

It carefully portrays the delicate feelings of a woman who can’t express herself well: while harboring the desire to know the other person more and to have them all to herself, and feeling love for them, she’s already fed up, believing there’s nothing more she can do.

Chosen as the theme song for ABEMA’s dating reality show “Don’t Be Fooled by Me and Mr.

Wolf,” the track was released digitally in August 2024, and is memorable for its emotional band sound and Shinya Ishihara’s vocals.

It’s a perfect song for those who can’t grasp how the person they like truly feels and are struggling with inner conflict.

Recommended for anyone who can relate to the sorrow of loving someone yet being unable to move forward.

Agate Caressed by NightAyase

Yoru Naderu Agate / Ayase (self cover)

A beautiful ballad from Ayase’s solo project that poignantly paints the depths of the night.

Included on the first EP, “Ghost City Tokyo,” released in November 2019, this piece vividly portrays the emotions of a man and woman who have no choice but to decide on parting from a loved one.

In a city after the last train has gone, a young man looks back on their relationship; his frustrated feelings as he senses the approaching goodbye are conveyed alongside an urban, mellow sound.

The wavering between wishing for a night with no terminus and trying to accept reality—tenderness toward the other person and a lingering regret—soaks into the heart with the melancholic melody line.

It’s a work that shines with adult sophistication and delicate emotional expression, perfect for a late-night drive or quiet time.