A poignant ballad song. A tear-jerking masterpiece of Japanese pop music.

HeavenMrs. GREEN APPLE

Mrs. GREEN APPLE “Heaven” Official Music Video

A soul-stirring song performed by Mrs.

GREEN APPLE.

Released in May 2025 as their 17th single, it also serves as the theme song for the film “I Will Tell You the Truth,” starring Motoki Omori.

This piece lays bare both the purity inherent in humanity and the shadows that lie behind it, posing profound questions to the listener’s heart.

It begins with a hush reminiscent of a cathedral, unfolds dramatically like a story, and fades away as if vanishing into thin air—an arc that seems to mirror our very lives.

Its unpredictable turns are sure to capture anyone’s heart and move them to tears.

It’s a song that gently gives you a push when you want to face your own emotions.

horizonback number

back number – Horizon

A gem of a ballad delivered by back number, a band that captures listeners’ hearts with poignant lyrics.

Beginning with a gentle piano melody, this song weaves a story about the pain of dreams and hopes suddenly collapsing, and the will to look forward and begin anew.

Many will find their own experiences reflected in the raw, urgent feelings—like a cry for one’s existence—born from unnoticed loneliness.

Created for high school students whose Inter-High was canceled, the song was released on YouTube in August 2020.

It’s a classic that quietly stays by your side when summer fun has passed and a faint loneliness sets in.

GraduationMy Hair is Bad

My Hair is Bad – Graduation (Official Video)

A track by My Hair is Bad that tells the story of two people sensing changes in their relationship amid the bustle of a station and the cityscape.

It was included on the EP “Jidai o Atsumete,” released in May 2016, and was produced as a kind of sequel to the previous song “Makka.” From the perspective of a timid, awkward young person, the song vividly portrays the growing distance between former lovers.

Its theme is a farewell as a rite of passage—putting a period on a relationship and moving on to the next stage.

Driven by a fast-paced 8-beat and dynamic arrangement, Tomomi Shiiki’s husky voice conveys the ebb and flow of emotion.

It’s a song that stays with you when you want to put an end to an ambiguous relationship with an ex and need the courage to face forward and start walking.

Love is litrokudenashi

Rokudenashi “The Flame of Love” / Rokudenashi – The Flame of Love [Official Music Video]

A ballad whose delicate piano tones resonate in the heart.

Created by the music project Rokudenashi, it was released as a single in February 2023 and is also included on the album “Ai ni Saku Hana.” The lyrics, which evoke the warmth of someone’s presence lighting a candle amid loneliness and anxiety, gently comfort a weary heart.

It’s a song you’ll want by your side on down days or when you feel like you’re losing yourself.

Deep RiverUtada Hikaru

Hikaru Utada – Deep River

There are many ballad songs by Hikaru Utada, but Deep River is one that really sinks into the heart—it makes you feel, just as the title suggests, like you’re sinking to the bottom of a deep river.

The song is included on Utada’s third album, DEEP RIVER, released in 2002.

Its lyrics are profoundly meaningful and thought-provoking, tightening your chest as you listen.

It’s one of those songs that, if you play it when you feel like crying, you’ll probably find yourself shedding tears before you even realize it.

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The thing I wanted mostMakihara Noriyuki

The Thing I Wanted Most by Noriyuki Makihara♡

Makihara Noriyuki’s 32nd single, “Boku ga Ichiban Hoshikatta Mono” (“What I Wanted Most”), released in 2004.

It’s a very heartwarming number and a highly popular song not only among fans.

Makihara has many masterpieces that pierce the heart and move you, and this song is one of them—so affecting that you might want to keep it as a charm for your heart.

If you read only the lyrics without listening to the music, it starts almost like an old folktale, like a story.

The tale proceeds calmly, but at the climax a wave of emotion comes rushing in—such is this number.

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I got a boyfriend/girlfriend.My Hair is Bad

My Hair is Bad – I Got a Girlfriend (Official Music Video)

How would you feel upon learning that someone you once shared a deep connection with has found a new partner? My Hair is Bad’s 2016 album “woman’s” features a song that delicately captures exactly that complex state of mind.

Even though you’re supposed to have moved on and found a new lover, you can’t shake the lingering attachment to the one you can’t forget.

Spending time with your current partner—who’s the complete opposite type—only makes the quiet ache of your feelings for the former one smolder in the back of your heart.

Released as the album reached a peak position of No.

5 on the Oricon charts, the track’s music video also drew significant attention.

It’s a song that will deeply resonate with anyone who thought they’d stepped into a new love but still finds themselves tethered to the past, or who has felt a rush of complicated emotions upon seeing an ex looking happy.