Masterpieces of bittersweet breakup songs. Recommended popular tracks.

Sentimental KissShio Reira

Reira Shio - Sentimental Kiss [Official Music Video]

This work depicts an unbreakable lingering attachment—the kind where you can’t cut off an ambiguous relationship with a former lover.

It’s a song by Rei La Ushio, released in May 2022 as her third digital single.

Chosen as background music for ABEMA’s dating show “He and the Wolf-chan Are Not to Be Deceived,” it topped Spotify’s Viral Chart and has surpassed 50 million streams worldwide.

Its gentle sound, centered on acoustic guitar and piano, embraces the complex emotions that arise as the distance between hearts and bodies grows inversely proportional.

Many listeners may find themselves relating to the experience of being unable to fully end a relationship and letting it drag on.

That’s not fair.Ochiai Wataru

Wataru Ochiai – That's Unfair (Music Video)

They’re someone who says they “love” me, but I know their heart isn’t here.

Even so, I can’t walk away, because those moments when they say it are the only ones that save me.

Wataru Ochiai’s 2021 release sings from the perspective of a woman sinking into a relationship so ambiguous it can’t even be labeled “more than friends, less than lovers,” moving between blaming the other person and loathing herself.

A phone placed face down as they leave; me almost grabbing their arm, then seeing them off with a smile—tiny details of daily life lay bare the reality that I’m not the one.

The simple arrangement, built around acoustic guitar and keys, is chosen to make the words stand out.

Precisely because the vocal delivery is calm and understated, the pain lands with raw immediacy.

After its 2021 release, the song charted in countries around the world, including Thailand, Laos, and Ireland.

The music video features actors Mizuki and Kento Hotta, and is approaching 900,000 views.

For anyone who knows the feeling of “a love you want to end but can’t,” this is a song that will gently stay by your side.

an unkind girlKoresawa

an unkind girl

It’s a ballad that portrays painfully real emotions, where unrequited love and self-loathing intertwine.

Singer-songwriter Koresawa, who keeps her real face hidden from the media, delivers this track as the closing song of her EP “Atashi no Koibito E.P,” released in November 2025.

It’s a poignant breakup song performed with just a single guitar and voice.

Through everyday scenes, it chronicles a clumsy state of mind—so consumed with thoughts of the other person that tenderness becomes elusive.

Among the tracks that include commercial tie-ins, this one deliberately weaves an unadorned sound whose solitary resonance strikes right at the heart.

On nights when the wound hasn’t healed and you want to cry quietly alone, it will be there to keep you company.

TIMEB’z

The rock ballad “TIME,” which is very popular among fans and often performed live, really strikes a chord with the feelings of heartbreak through its sentimental atmosphere.

In particular, the tone of the guitar in the interlude seems to paint a range of emotions and resonates deeply in the chest.

People often say that time will make you forget, but it’s not easy to switch your feelings right away, is it…? I don’t think you need to force yourself.

Sometimes it’s okay to visit places filled with memories.

It’s a song that, even as you’re gently overcome by the desire to go back, seems to reveal a new light ahead.

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The meaning of goodbyeNogizaka 46

Nogizaka46 'The Meaning of Goodbye'

Released in 2016 as Nogizaka46’s 16th single.

It was Nanami Hashimoto’s final single as a member, and the first and only time she served as center.

This medium-tempo track features a poignant piano line and a beautiful melody that evoke the group’s image, and it teaches us that every farewell has its meaning.

the absolute worstMarushii

Marcy – The Worst of the Worst (Official Music Video)

What words would you cry out when you realize that the heart of the lover you were laughing with until yesterday is no longer turned toward you? Released digitally in March 2022, this song by Marcy captures the complicated mix of anger and lingering attachment toward a fickle partner, set against a fast-paced rock sound.

It was also included on their first album, “Memory,” released in June 2022, and the music video featuring Naenano drew attention.

While venting the frustration of betrayal, the protagonist suffers from being unable to completely hate the other person—perfectly voicing the feelings of someone fresh off a heartbreak.

It’s a song that can support your heart when you’ve gone through a breakup so painful that just remembering it makes your chest tighten.

Song of the Eternal NightKamisama wa saikoro o furanai

God Does Not Play Dice “Yoru-Naga Uta” [Official Lyric Video]

A poignant breakup song that captures the pain of the moment you realize the person you loved is drifting away.

Created by God Doesn’t Roll Dice, the track was included on the mini-album “A View on Lambda,” released in May 2019.

It later gained attention primarily on TikTok from spring 2020, and the official lyric video on YouTube surpassed 10 million views.

The piano tones and the earnest vocals of Shusaku Yanagida quietly portray a yearning for days that will never return.

The protagonist can’t accept the other person’s change of heart, yet still wishes to meet them once more—an image that will resonate with anyone carrying the pain of unrequited love or heartbreak.

The reasons for the breakup can be interpreted in various ways, making this a song I’d recommend even to those who feel they are on the verge of losing someone important right now.