History Main / AmbiguousInnocence

* Sensui from ''YuYuHakusho'' has the same sort of thing going for him, although it's played off a bit differently. A devout Demon-Hunter from childhood, with a morality was so rigid that watching a group of [[HumansAreBastards humans raping, torturing and murdering]] to [[NobleDemon innocent-and-helpless demons]] shattered his mind into seven personalities and set all of him off on a genocidal fit of raging misanthropy.

* Sensui from ''YuYuHakusho'' has the same sort of thing going for him, although it's played off a bit differently. His morality was so rigid that watching a group of [[HumansAreBastards humans being real bastards]] to [[NobleDemon non-evil yokai]] shattered his mind into seven personalities and set all of him off on a genocidal fit of raging misanthropy.

[[{{Lenore}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/701422771a4466041910b172479131l_4977.jpg]]
[[caption-width:300: Note [[LightIsNotGood that the blonde, little girl in the pink, frilly dress]] ''[[CreepyChild is actually dancing on a coffin]]''.]]

Ah, Innocence is grand. OrIsIt? Likely related to the story of the Garden of Eden is an understanding that rather than always meaning goodness, innocence may also entail the absence of a ''sense'' of right and wrong, making it closer to amorality. This understanding is sometimes applied to the PsychopathicManchild. ChildrenAreInnocent sometimes carries the implications of this, with its being said that people get worse as they get older because they were innocent, not good. This may be invoked as the explanation for how someone who UsedToBeASweetKid could still go horribly wrong.

* In UminekoNoNakuKoroNi, this is used in some of the witches' personas. Eva-Beatrice gets a touch (although she's closer to a teenager, Eva screaming at her for murdering her husband had a lot of tones of this), but more notable was "pure and sweet" little Maria. So pure and sweet that she's rooting for everyone to [[UnusualEuphemism go to the Golden Land]], and in one arc, even [[SelfMadeOrphan murders her own mother]] upon deciding that her mother would never do such [[AbusiveParents awful things]], and so Rosa must be being possessed by the evil witch.

--> '''Jet:''' "So he's like a child with superhuman combat capabilities. And really, there's nothing more pure and cruel as a child."

* The Howlers from ''{{Animorphs}}'' were a TykeBomb SuperSoldier example of this. They were created by Crayak the BiggerBad of the series for the sole purpose of rendering other species extinct. When Jake morphed one he expected violent rage and killing instinct. What he got instead was a sense of playfulness like a dolphin (note that dolphins are a good example of this in RealLife). Howlers are just a bunch of fun loving three year olds who believe their acts of genocide are harmless games and don't know any better. This causes Jake to recall with shame the moment he laughed as a Howler fell to his death -- ''he had gloated about killing a child''.

--> ''"N's heart is pure and innocent. But there is nothing more beautiful and terrifying than innocence."''\\
--'''Concordia''', ''PokemonBlackAndWhite''

--> ''"There is nothing as pure or [[ChildrenAreCruel as cruel as a child]]."'' \\
--'''Jet Black''', ''CowboyBebop''

* ''[[LenoreTheCuteLittleDeadGirl Lenore]]''. [[CreepyChild Just]] [[StrangeGirl Lenore]].

--> ''"N's heart is pure and innocent. But there is nothing more beautiful and terrifying than innocence."''

--> ''"N's heart is pure and innocent. But there is nothing more beautiful and terrifying than innocence."''
--'''Concordia''', ''PokemonBlackAndWhite''

--> ''"There is nothing as pure or as cruel as a child."'' \\

Compare PureIsNotGood and InnocenceVirginOnStupidity. The related idea of the "Fall" being a good thing is very common (perhaps even required) in works where GodIsEvil or SatanIsGood. See also IgnoranceIsBliss, KidsAreCruel. ObliviouslyEvil is related.

* The episode of CowboyBebop that the second page quote comes from ("Pierrot le Fou") explores this, though not with a child. Instead, the "innocent" in question is the (adult) superhuman assassin named Mad Pierrot, who has the mind of a toddler and, as a result, is incredibly sadistic. He's also deathly afraid of cats, and breaks down crying for his mother after being nicked by a bullet (up until that point, some manner of energy shield had protected him from any sort of damage he might otherwise have sustained).

Compare PureIsNotGood and InnocenceVirginOnStupidity. The related idea of the "Fall" being a good thing is very common (perhaps even required) in works where GodIsEvil or SatanIsGood. See also IgnoranceIsBliss. ObliviouslyEvil is related.

* Basically the entire point of ''{{minus}}.'', which combines this innocence with [[GooGooGodlike omnipotence]], resulting in an [[http://www.kiwisbybeat.com/minus1.html imaginative little girl]] who can do anything she wants, including [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant effortlessly bringing nightmares to life]].