[Tear-Jerking Breakup Songs] A curated selection of love songs that gently comfort a wounded heart!

periodIshizaki Hyuui

Huwie Ishizaki – Period

No matter how hard you try to hold them back, this song just makes the tears overflow, doesn’t it? Of course the lyrics are warm, but his gentle voice tugs at the deepest part of your heart.

Men who’ve gone through a painful breakup will probably feel as if their own hearts are being laid bare.

By the a cappella section, you might feel like you’ve run out of tears to cry.

I recommend it to anyone who’s on the verge of being overwhelmed by emotions they can’t control right now.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

Yoshizaki Keiko

Report a problem

After the DreamGARNET CROW

After the Dream

Speaking of GARNET CROW, many people—depending on their generation—probably associate them strongly with songs from the anime Detective Conan.

Their 2002 release “Yume Mita Ato de” was also a tie-in song for Detective Conan.

When you recall the happy times you spent with a lover, they can feel like a dream, can’t they? The moment you’re no longer together, all those conversations and frequent meetings suddenly vanish.

It’s a heartbreak song, but it feels like one that stays close to you, as if to offer comfort.

The Story You Don’t Knowsupercell

The Story You Don’t Know – supercell

Released in 2009, this is supercell’s first single.

It was used as the ending theme for the anime Bakemonogatari, so many people likely heard it at the time.

The lyrics recount a bittersweet summer memory of being unable to convey one’s feelings of love to the other person.

Also noteworthy is vocalist nagi’s clear, transparent singing voice.

A pure white townFujimaki Ryota

Ryota Fujimaki / “Pure White City” (Music Video)

A ballad as quiet as snow falling and piling up, yet imbued with a palpable warmth.

This single by singer-songwriter Ryota Fujimaki—also known for his work with Remioromen—was released in January 2025.

It was produced as a lead track from the album “Hakanaku Moroi Mono,” which came out in March of the same year.

The beautiful tone of a 12-string guitar intertwines with lyrics that overlay the heartbreak of a breakup onto Tokyo’s winter scenery, leaving a tender, aching afterglow.

Unspeakable goodbyes, gratitude tucked away deep in the heart—this song seems to affirm such unresolved emotions, and will likely resonate deeply with those standing at the end of a romance.

In the season when cold winds blow, it will gently stay by your side when you wish to sit quietly with your thoughts.

codependencyDomura Riu

Codependence / Riu Domura (Lyric Video)

It’s a song about a relationship that can’t be called healthy—wanting to be needed, being used for convenience, and still being unable to leave.

Created by Riu Domura, a singer from Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, it was included on the 2019 debut EP “Escape.” Even while recognizing the love is false, they hold each other, staying close only to fill their loneliness.

The protagonist realizes they’re just the other person’s toy, yet can’t break free; that anguish unfolds over a chill track.

In the end, all that remains is loneliness—an aching futility that hits home.

It may encourage those struggling in unhealthy relationships or those who want to break away.

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.

Just… I want to see youEXILE

EXILE / I Just... Want to See You - Short version -

It’s a smash-hit ballad released in 2005.

The lyrics are filled with lingering feelings for a former lover.

When they were together, their presence felt like a given—and only after the breakup did he realize how precious they were.

The lyrics are truly moving.

The song tenderly conveys a man’s regret that, if only he had always treated them with unwavering kindness…