Ranking of Dark/Jaded Japanese Songs [2026]
We’re showcasing the monthly top 100 “yami” J-pop songs ranked by view count, all in one place.
When you’re feeling down, upbeat or empowering tracks can help—but sometimes you need songs that gently sit with your pain and offer sympathy.
The playlist is updated weekly.
- Popular Depressive Songs Ranking [2026]
- Popular “yami” songs: Japanese music / J‑Pop artist rankings [2026]
- Sad Song Rankings [2026]
- Lonely Song Rankings [2026]
- Popular Heartbreak Song Rankings [2026]
- [Songs to Listen to When You Want to Die] I want to disappear... A song to support you who feel that way
- Popular Tearjerker Song Rankings [2026]
- [Dark Songs] A carefully curated selection of deeply dark tracks and heartbreaking songs that accompany you in tough times
- Saddest Songs Ranking [2026]
- [Trash Songs] A carefully curated selection of tracks about the lowest, worst kind of loser—and hidden gems!
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- [Support for the Heart] Songs That Give You Courage When Times Are Tough
- Ranking of Tear-Jerking Japanese Songs [2026]
J-Pop Depressive Songs Ranking [2026] (91–100)
Wolverine Nenzutto mayonaka de ii no ni.92rank/position
A piercing song that captures feelings of loneliness and self-denial.
It’s a track by the band ZUTOMAYO (Zutto Mayonaka de Iinoni), centered around the vocalist ACA-ne.
It’s included on the mini-album “Koke no Ichinen Kaiba ni Takusu,” released in October 2024.
The pain of emotional repression is conveyed through ACA-Ne’s transparent vocals and a funky guitar sound.
It’s a song that will resonate with teens and people in their twenties struggling with relationships.
The track “TAIDADA,” also included on the same album, was used as the ending theme for the anime Dandadan.
to break things bit by bit / to smash things piece by piecekikuo93rank/position
When it comes to Vocaloid producers who create beautiful music despite being deeply troubled, Kikuo comes to mind.
The lyrics are so brutal you want to look away, yet the tones are so clear that you can’t help but listen.
The distinctive melodies stick in your head.
Also, the theme of wanting to destroy something you love appears in other works as well.
RevengeMy Hair is Bad94rank/position
This is a searing song that portrays the way the sorrow of a broken heart turns into resentment and anger.
Included on the album “mothers,” released in November 2017, the track tells a breakup story delivered with the raw emotion characteristic of My Hair is Bad.
It traces the emotional shift—from happy memories with a lover, to a sudden parting, and ultimately to a vow of “revenge,” as the title suggests—set against a propulsive melody.
The song vividly captures the subtle nuances of someone grappling with anger and bitterness after a breakup, leaving a strong impression of a complex state of mind where deep sorrow and love are intertwined.
When you can’t recover from a sense of loss, listening to this track may help you sublimate those emotions.
Crushed by an empty skyamazarashi95rank/position
You know that feeling like there’s a gaping hole in your heart… it happens, right? This song speaks for those emotions.
It’s a piece by the rock band amazarashi, led by Hiromu Akita, included on their first album, “Sennen Koufukuron” (A Thousand Years’ Theory of Happiness), released in 2011.
It makes you think, is it even fair for a song to hit this hard? Every single word in the lyrics carries a strong will.
That literary quality is precisely amazarashi’s appeal.
When your heart aches, this song will surely stay by your side.
The Little Match GirlSuiyōbi no Campanella96rank/position
Amid many upbeat tracks, this subculture artist has caused controversies at live shows, including butchering a deer onstage and wardrobe malfunctions.
The music video for this song actually centers on domestic violence, and viewers have called it frightening—making it a track with a notably dark undertone.
Tenshō Shō Tenshōkikuo97rank/position
This song, Kikuo’s 13th work, is one of the original Vocaloid tracks that has reached a million views.
The artwork is by Shiku, and the video was created by Kikuo.
If you’re curious about the incomprehensible lyrics in the latter half, try playing it in reverse—you’ll hear words come through.
The sound has a haunting, horror-like feel, but it’s addictive.
I bet many people feel like they could listen to it forever.
Kurayasukoppu98rank/position
Scop, a Vocaloid producer known for expressing a unique worldview, the fragility and darkness of the heart, and human weakness.
This song, “Kuraia,” packed full of that darkness and pain, is incredibly relatable when you’re feeling down.
You can sink into it all the way to rock bottom, or let it encourage you.
It’s a “dark” song I want every troubled person to hear.
