Emo songs recommended for junior high school students: A roundup of classic and popular Japanese tracks!
There are moments when anyone feels like laying their sadness and sorrow directly over music.
Especially in middle school, emotions are delicate, and you’re often drawn to lyrics that sink into your heart or melodies tinged with melancholy.
Songs that stay close to those feelings—so-called “yami songs” (songs steeped in emotional pain)—can be precious sources of empathy and comfort.
This time, from tracks with fragile sensitivity to more intense songs that cut deep into the heart, we’re introducing yami songs recommended for middle schoolers.
You’re sure to find a track that resonates with your heart.
- Songs popular among junior high school students. Also songs trending on social media.
- [For High School Students] Melancholy Songs That Stay Close to Your Feelings [Tough Times]
- [Yami Song] Fight darkness with darkness!? Deep tracks that stay close to your pain
- Yami songs recommended for college students: melancholic tracks to listen to when you're feeling down
- [Songs to Listen to When You Want to Die] I want to disappear... A song to support you who feel that way
- [Clubs, Friendship, Romance] Youth songs middle schoolers should listen to
- Friendship songs recommended for middle school students
- Hidden gems of yami songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- Songs to listen to when you've been betrayed. Classic hits about betrayal.
- [Recommended for elementary school students] Songs that touch the heart! Moving and comforting songs of gratitude
- [J-Pop] Autumn Songs Recommended for Elementary School Students! Classic Seasonal Tunes
- Songs to listen to when you’re feeling down! Tracks that boost your self-confidence
- [Dark Songs] A carefully curated selection of deeply dark tracks and heartbreaking songs that accompany you in tough times
Yami songs recommended for junior high schoolers: A comprehensive roundup of classic and popular J-pop tracks! (61–70)
RainywaySUPER BUTTER DOG
When it comes to representatives of Japanese funk, it’s no exaggeration to name them—and this is their signature “dark” song.
Its strikingly poignant lyrics are sung over a rock-tinged sound you don’t hear much in their other tracks.
Things we stop thinking about as we become adults, things you can only feel with raw sensitivity when you’re young… It’s as if the song speaks on our behalf.
horizonback number
Back Number’s “Suiheisen” is a song that captures feelings of helplessness.
It’s a medium-tempo ballad written for high school students who were aiming for the Inter-High but had their hopes dashed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many junior high students have also likely been forced to endure a lot in various situations.
This masterpiece gently stays close to those students’ hearts and gives them a little push forward.
For junior high students right in the midst of adolescence, worries about relationships with parents and friends, romance, and future paths are endless.
At times like that, I hope listening to this song can help ease your heart, even just a little.
Remember mekururi
This is a song by Quruli, a rock band from Kyoto Prefecture.
It was released in 2013 as their 26th single.
The lyrics, which evoke childhood memories, are sure to resonate even with middle schoolers.
Please give it a listen—it’s very relaxing!
Unrequited love.haji→
Here’s one I recommend to anyone who’s in unrequited love right now.
It’s a single released in 2018 by the singer-songwriter Haj→.
The lyrics portray the emotional turmoil of loving someone who already has a crush on someone else, yet being unable to suppress your own feelings.
That pure, aching devotion to a love that won’t come true… it’s a real tearjerker.
Only for you, clear skiesYorushika
This is a song included in Yorushika’s second album, “No Encore for the Loser Dog,” released in 2018, by a band formed around n-buna, a popular Vocaloid producer.
The lyrics evoke memories of a single summer, squeezing the heart.
If you’re a middle schooler in the midst of youth, it will surely resonate with you.
Birthday Complexsensei tasukete
Sensei Tasukete-san’s song is a melancholic piano-pop number that portrays the complex feelings of a girl on the eve of her birthday.
Vivid lyrics linger in the mind, such as the image of a girl after school waiting for her teacher while blindfolded, and a scene where a cake is smashed to bits.
Released in January 2025 as a debut single, it drew attention especially among young people, with the teaser video on TikTok garnering over 41,000 views.
It’s a track that gently accompanies those who feel impatience as their birthday approaches and are unsettled by the prospect of growing up—one you’ll definitely want to hear.
aitaiKato Miria
It’s a song that portrays the feelings of a girl who keeps thinking about an ex-lover she can no longer meet.
The straightforward words “I miss you” feel incredibly poignant and make my heart ache.
Isn’t it a song that speaks on behalf of a heart wounded by heartbreak?