I’m an uncultured guy — before I ever heard the term “dark nursery rhyme,” I didn’t know the thing existed. My first encounter was The Monster Without a Name (名前のない怪物), and I only noticed it because of some anime ED. Honestly, reading it creeped me out a bit. The “monster” in there can stand in for all kinds of horrible things — desire, sin, filth. Plug those in and the rhyme gets a whole lot scarier. “As expected of a dark nursery rhyme — the more you think about it, the more terrified you get.” A few lines, that much recoil. Dark nursery rhymes don’t mess around. But one day I remembered the rhymes I chanted as a kid, and something felt off.