History Main / AmbiguousInnocence

** Muddying the waters further is the fact that while Jei spares people here and there without declaring them evil, only two other characters have explicitly been called innocent. Another child, Keifumi, who is a core character in Jei's backstory [[spoiler: After she gets dangerously ill, her father threatens to kill everyone at the temple where she has been brought to recover if she is unable to, leading the kindly head priest Jizonobu to make a desperate deal with [[GodOfEvil Dark Gods]] to save her life. In the process Jizonobu is transformed into Jei, and proceeds to [[AllForNothing kill everyone in the temple anyway]] except the now cured child.]] and oddly, Usagi's adult cousin and travelling partner Yukichi.

* ''ComicBook/LenoreTheCuteLittleDeadGirl'': Lenore, the cheerful grave-dancing girl in the page image, is an innocent {{undead|Child}} abomination who has a habit of accidentally killing all her pets. From her page: Lenore's actions often result in the death or injury to those around her, and in various forms of chaos, yet she is not a malicious character, and often thinks she is doing good. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Maybe]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Lucifer}}'': Their is a character (or, rather, a [[TarotMotifs Basanos Card]]) called "Innocence" that takes the form of a young girl. She turns out to be pretty much out-and-out evil in the end.

** Muddying the waters further is the fact that while Jei spares people here and there without declaring them evil, only two other characters have explicitly been called innocent. Another child [[spoiler:A core character in Jei's backstory. Her father threatened to kill everyone at the temple where she had been brought while desperately ill, leading the kindly head priest Jizonobu to make a desperate deal with Dark Gods to save her life. In the process Jizonobu was transformed into Jei.]] and oddly, Usagi's adult cousin and travelling partner Yukichi.

** Jei only ever declares two other characters to be explicitly innocent. Another child, and oddly, Usagi's adult cousin and travelling partner Yukichi.

* [[BrokenAce Light Yagami]] of ''Manga/DeathNote'' can come off this way; his BlackAndWhiteInsanity and LackOfEmpathy are often regarded as evidence of his immaturity and childish inability to understand the world around him or connect to others, thereby making his [[SerialKiller mass murder spree]] seem like an adequate way to spend his time. Light does admit that he understands killing people is a crime -- he just never admits that it is ''wrong''. It doesn't help that [[ArtifactOfDeath he can kill without seeing people die]].

** Before he grew up into the messiah we know, Goku was much more willing to kill, possibly because of this. In fact, this trope is how Creator/AkiraToriyama sees the character: Goku's selfish goals often lead him to performing acts of good through co-incidence and not intent. While he'll defend someone being oppressed, the primary reason why Goku fights the various [[BigBad Big Bads]] is either because he wants to challenge them to a fight and see how he measures up, or out of revenge, rather than explicitly because it's the good and proper thing to do (case in point: he's perfectly happy to let dangerous characters like Frieza and Dr. Gero be if they're not currently terrorizing anybody).
** This is exactly what makes Majin Buu in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' so dangerous. He thinks like a child; everything he does was a game, including [[OmnicidalManiac murdering almost everyone on the planet]]. As soon as someone manages to get close enough to him to explain that what he's doing was wrong, though, [[HeelFaceTurn he pulls the plug immediately]]. Unfortunately, that just wakes up the ''[[TykeBomb other]]'' [[LetsGetDangerous personality]] that's buried inside him, which is the identity that destroys galaxies like he was created to do.
** Zeno, the Omni-King of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', is the most powerful God in existence and can destroy all universes in the blink of an eye, and he acts like a small child. The fact that he will destroy the losers' universes in the Universe Survival Arc and is playing a chess-like game with his future counterpart while destroying 202 real planets just brings to question how [[BlueAndOrangeMorality otherworldly]] the Lord of All is. There is a reason why Beerus and Champa are scared shitless of him. On top of it all, it's revealed during the Universe Survival Arc that [[spoiler:Zeno was planning to destroy some of the other universes to begin with, and Goku reminding him of the Tournament of Power just gave him a convenient excuse to do so...though it turns out he fully believed that the winner would wish the others back and it was a SecretTestOfCharacter and he'd have found the multiverse not worth keeping around had a selfish wish been the result]]. Beerus himself notes that Zen'o is truly innocent and noble, which is [[PureIsNotGood exactly why he's so dangerous]].

* Music/MelanieMartinez's "Music/CryBaby" is a ConceptAlbum based around the idea of presenting complex adult situations through the lens and metaphor of childhood, so naturally it's chock-full of this.

On the other hand, the villain may often [[EvilCannotComprehendGood assume this, and that all good characters are really naive]] — if they ''[[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids understood]]'' things, [[GoodIsOldFashioned they would be as evil as he is]].

* Sensui from ''Manga/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 moral-code so rigid that watching a group of [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans raping, torturing and murdering]] dozens of [[DarkIsNotEvil innocent-and-helpless demons]] shattered his mind into seven personalities and set all of him off on a genocidal fit of raging misanthropy.
* This is exactly what made Majin Buu in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' so dangerous. He thought like a child; everything he did was a game, including [[OmnicidalManiac murdering almost everyone on the planet]]. As soon as someone managed to get close enough to him to explain that what he was doing was wrong, though, [[HeelFaceTurn he pulled the plug immediately]]. Unfortunately, that just woke up the [[TykeBomb OTHER]] [[LetsGetDangerous personality]] that was buried inside him, which was the identity that destroyed Galaxies like he was created to.

** Zeno, the Omni-King of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. The most powerful God in existence, that could destroy all universes in the blink of an eye, and he acts like a small child. The fact he will destroy the losers universes in the Universe Survival Arc, and was playing with his future counterpart a chess like game while destroying 202 real planets just brings to question how [[BlueAndOrangeMorality otherworldly]] the Lord of All is. There is a reason why Beerus and Champa are scared shitless of him. On top of it all, it's revealed during the Universe Survival Arc that [[spoiler:Zeno was planning to destroy some of the other universes to begin with, and Goku reminding him of the Tournament of Power just gave him a convenient excuse to do so...though it turns out he fully believed that the winner would wish the others back and it was a SecretTestOfCharacter and he'd have found the multiverse not worth keeping around had a selfish wish been the result]]. Beerus himself notes that Zen'o is truly innocent and noble, which is [[PureIsNotGood exactly why he's so dangerous]].
* Explored in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' with Kaworu, particularly in the manga. Sadamoto had Twain's ''Mysterious Stranger'' in mind when plotting out his character, resulting in what some fans call "Evil Manga Kaworu". Most notably, he ''[[ShootTheDog snaps a stray kitten's neck]]'', reasoning that it was faster and more merciful than letting it starve to death. It takes several panels for the cat to die and the cat is clearly in pain the entire time. We also get a shot of Shinji's horrified face.
* In ''Manga/SgtFrog'', when Fuyuki was younger his dream was...to rule the world. Also, visiting Keronian kids Chiroro and Karara cause all kinds of trouble when they try to conquer Pokopen themselves.

* The ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "Pierrot le Fou" explores this, though not with a child. Instead, the "innocent" in question is the (adult) superhuman assassin 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 taking a minor wound from a thrown knife, having been protected from higher-energy projectiles previously.
* Mao of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' also has a form of this, due to growing up with little human contact beyond [[BrokenBird CC]]. As a result, he sees nothing wrong with his destructive actions.

* Speaking of Hansel and Gretel, if anyone in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' qualifies for this trope, it's them. Orphans who were taken from Romanian orphanages after Ceausescu's dictatorship was overthrown, they were forced to participate in child pornography and {{snuff film}}s, where they were they learned to kill in order to survive. Needless to say, this ''broke'' them mentally, leaving them so screwed up that they really don't understand that people aren't ''supposed'' to rape, kill and mutilate each others. Indeed, they think that killing people ''keeps the universe running'', and that the ''purpose'' of humanity is to butcher each other.
* A recurring theme in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' is that Gon doesn't judge people, even when he should. He's forgiven or befriended a surprising number of serial killers, just [[BewareTheNiceOnes don't you dare]] let him catch you engaging in MoralMyopia…
* This is [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation one possible interpretation]] of Akito in ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' — he just [[DomesticAbuse made life hell for people]] because no one ever told him it was wrong.
* [[SerialKiller Light]] [[BrokenAce Yagami]] of ''Manga/DeathNote'' can come off this way; his BlackAndWhiteInsanity and LackOfEmpathy are often regarded as evidence of his immaturity and childish inability to understand the world around him or connect to others, thereby making his mass murder spree seem like an adequate way to spend his time. Light does admit that he understands killing people is a crime — he just never admits that it is ''wrong''. It doesn't help that [[ArtifactOfDeath he can kill without seeing people die]].
* Ultimo, the ''Ultimate Good'' douji from ''Manga/KarakuridoujiUltimo'', is currently recovering from this; before, he was even ''worse''. An example: while in feudal Japan, bandit Yamato taught him that AristocratsAreEvil and he took it seriously. Later on they met princess Gekkou, who was ready to renounce her royalty, marry Yamato, and live for the common people; [[spoiler:Ultimo killed her for the only reason of her being a noble, just as his master taught him]]. Yamato even lampshades it.
-->'''Yamato:''' The good of children is evil for adults.
* Lampshaded in the title of ''Manga/PuellaMagiKazumiMagica: The Innocent Malice''. The title is eventually found to be meaningful for Kazumi herself, an innocent amnesiac who learns the awful truth about Magical Girls, the awful lengths to which her friends will go to prevent the inevitable, and [[spoiler:that she herself is a clone made from the flesh of a Witch, whose very nature is toxic even though her personality isn't]].
* The whole point of ''Literature/{{Shimoneta}}'' is that the overly-strict indecency laws have led to teenagers being ''hopelessly'' ignorant about sex. This leads to the leader of a censorship squad almost raping someone since she has no idea about things like ''consent'' and has confused lust with love, all due to her massive ignorance of the topic enforced by her parents. Also, no teenager knows how a baby is made due to the censorship laws forcing textbooks to declare it simply happens "out of love."
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** The Homunculus Gluttony in both incarnations of ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' (especially the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 anime]]). He is too dumb to think on his own and merely does what he's told, which mostly involves killing and eating people. He lacks the ability to understand that this is in any way wrong.
** The anime version of Wrath is also this before being made aware of his nature and undergoing a FaceHeelTurn -- having spent his formative years [[spoiler:inside the Gate of Truth]], he's completely unaware of human life and customs, with occasionally CreepyChild results.
* ''Manga/MonsterMusume'' is very vague on exactly how socially conscious and mature [[SlimeGirl Suu]] is, especially in regards to when she sexually assaults the other girls. On one hand, she's shown to learn from them mainly by imitation, is ignorant of many aspects of society, and her biology is so different from everyone else's that it's arguable whether she understands what sex even ''is''. On the other hand, it's also implied that [[ObfuscatingStupidity she's much smarter than she lets on]] and at least ''partially'' understands the situation. The fact that her mental state is heavily dependent on the materials she's absorbed makes it even harder to tell exactly how innocent she is.
* In the ''Anime/YuGiOhTheDarkSideOfDimensions'' prequel manga Sera is a CreepyChild who nearly succeeds in killing Kaiba, but in the movie she's a hero who wants to save Aigami from darkness, opening room for a lot of interpretation.
* Elaine from ''Anime/{{Genocyber}}'' is a CuteMute WildChild with phychic powers raised in a lab by an abusive MadScientist who can transform into the titlar monster that can and does destroy cities. By the 3rd OVA she's driven the world into an AfterTheEnd state.
* ''Manga/TheNightmareBeforeChristmasZerosJourney'' reveals that [[spoiler: Lock, Shock, and Barrel don't know the difference between good and bad, just whatever's the most fun in the moment, whether it's playing a trick, hijacking a sled, stealing candy, or kidnapping a beloved holiday icon]].
* In ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'', Filo's human form is an angelic, prepubescent girl. Given her innocent behavior and sweet nature it's easy to forget her actual form is a large predatory bird trained to fight since birth. This leads to her sometimes saying or doing something shocking, such as wanting to eat other members of her own species.
* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'', protagonist Suletta Mercury seems ignorant of many social conventions. Usually it's PlayedForLaughs… until TheStinger of [[WhamEpisode episode 12]], when [[spoiler:Suletta, in an attempt to save Miorine from an assassin, slams [[HumongousMecha Aerial's]] massive hand down on the man, reducing him to a [[LudicrousGibs puddle of gore]]. When Suletta exits Aerial's cockpit, she slips and falls in the blood and [[DissonantSerenity has a chuckle about how clumsy she is]], and seems completely oblivious as to why Miorine is staring at her in pure horror]].

* ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'': Little Keiko travels with her "Uncle" Jei and, later, [[DarkActionGirl "Auntie" Inazuma]], who call her "My Innocent" and slaughter everyone who they believe is evil--which, thus far, has been everyone (except Keiko and Inazuma, obviously). Considering that Jei thinks that [[ChasteHero Usagi]] UsefulNotes/{{Miyamoto|Musashi}} isn't just evil but '''the''' evil he must slay to rejoin the gods, ''what the heck does that make Keiko''? [[spoiler:WordOfGod originally wanted Keiko to be Jei's next host, but that seemed a little excessive to make a child that evil. Maybe in a few years]].

* In ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'', this is part of why the [[EldritchAbomination Cavalcade of Horrors]] has always intrigued Tarakudo. Their treatment of everything like it's some kind of sick joke only they understand makes him wonder if they're really actively malicious, or if they're [[BlueAndOrangeMorality mentally]] more like cruel children, viewing acts of destruction and madness as games and jests.

* One possible interpretation of the [[{{Deconstruction}} character]] of [[PrincessClassic Lily]] from ''Film/{{Legend|1985}}'' is this. [[BigBad Darkness]] goes out of his way to tell everyone how innocent she is, but in the first few minutes of the movie, we witness her lie and steal. Later, she takes to manipulating [[Creator/TimCurry Darkness]] with terrifying ease. The other explanation, naturally, is that it was never she who was innocent, but [[TheHero Jack]].

* The villain in the Literature/LordPeterWimsey novel ''Whose Body?'' is a sociopath who kills for the fun of it, and has a dream of returning people to the pre-Garden of Eden state by freeing them from guilt (and implicitly making them more like himself). Note, that [[Creator/DorothyLSayers Sayers]] was also a Christian writer.
* Creator/CSLewis explores this idea in the planet of Perelandra in the ''Literature/SpaceTrilogy'' which was without original sin. In an aversion, it wasn't depicted as a bad thing. The entire plot of ''Perelandra'' is the hero's efforts to prevent the Adam and Eve figures of the planet from committing their own Original Sin, and his success in doing so is presented as cause for celebration.
* Like C.S. Lewis, Creator/RayBradbury also explored the idea of an entire species of innocents, in "The Fire Balloons". It is about a human missionary who wants to save the Martians' souls. He eventually discovers that their souls do not need saving. This is not presented as making the Martians bad so much as making humanity tragic because we are comparatively destined to sinfulness.
* ''A Case of Conscience'' explores a theme similar to the two examples above, with a twist. It is a {{science fiction}} novel by Creator/JamesBlish in which a Jesuit Priest is part of the team that establishes contact with the first known sapient extraterrestrials. They have a working civilization, but no religion; they are completely without any concept of {{God}}, an afterlife, or the idea of sin. The story ambiguously suggests that they were created by {{Satan}}.
* In ''Literature/DivisionByZero'' we have Clotho, [[TopGod the most powerful manifestation of the omnipotent God]], who can [[ApocalypseHow/ClassZ annihilate anything on all levels]] just by ''thinking'' about it. She is indifferent to morality but still does moral things, at least in framework of the story where her intent and character matters little (an example: as the multiversal manifestation of life, she not only allows people to exist, but is directly responsible for the continuing existence of all things in the multiverse). However, Clotho [[LackOfEmpathy doesn’t care about what’s right or wrong]], only about if there will be consequences for her ([[ItAmusedMe and if things will amuse her]]—''especially'' the latter). She is not interested in putting an end to the Second Celestial War which would see an entire universe destroyed should Omega succeed ([[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]]), and only encourages Kohana to assist Alpha because she both [[IJustWantToHaveFriends wants to see Kohana fight, and is interested in the outcome of Alpha’s fate should the war end]]. This is unsurprising, considering she not only casually destroyed [[OmnicidalManiac multiple universes]] in front of Alpha, but an entire timeline too simply because she felt like it.
* In J.M. Barrie's ''Literature/PeterPan'', the defining traits of children and fairies (and Peter Pan ''especially'') is that they are innocent ''and heartless''. Peter himself is an especially poignant case: being stuck in childhood means that he cannot learn from his experiences--or even remember them. At the ending of the traditional stage play, [[spoiler:when Wendy is starting to outgrow Neverland, she mentions that Tinkerbell is dead of old age (fairies don't live very long) and Peter asks, "Who's that?"]] Peter displays much [[AngstWhatAngst merriment and delight at killing pirates and Indians]], and it's also mentioned that when there are too many Lost Boys, or they started growing up, Peter "thinned them out". He's also been known to change sides if a fight is too easy to be fun.
* Several Creator/TerryPratchett characters:

** Captain Carrot, [[EpilepticTrees possibly]]. He's so relentlessly nice and earnest that he can get two gangs of street kids to play football and convince the most feared warriors in Klatch ''not'' to charge, simply by assuming that they're basically sensible people. Not even his closest friends are sure whether or not this is all some elaborate joke, or how aware he is of his in-universe PlotArmor. He also says things like "If [the Guild of Fools] burns, it'd be a blow for entertainment in the city".

%% * Creator/MarkTwain's ''Literature/TheMysteriousStranger'' discusses this in great detail (along with many other stereotypical beliefs about the concepts of good and evil).
* The Howlers from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' were a TykeBomb SuperSoldier example of this. They were created by Crayak, the GreaterScopeVillain 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 much like that of 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 that their victims aren't real beyond their role in the game. 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''.
** Crayak works hard to enforce this innocence. The Howlers have a collective memory, and he ensures no memory of a Howler dying is included so that the concept of death remains alien to them. They're eventually rendered useless to Crayak after witnessing a single moment of love between two humans and deciding that love looks like more fun than war.
* ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'': When Nick confronts Tom about what he said to Wilson that made him [[spoiler:kill Gatsby and himself]], Tom answers that [[spoiler:he accused Gatsby of running over Wilson's wife with his car]]. Nick realizes Tom is sincerely incapable of understanding why this is an evil act:
-->''"And if you think I didn't have my share of suffering--look here, when [[ItsAllAboutMe I went to give up]] that flat and saw that damn box of dog biscuits sitting there on the sideboard I sat down and cried like a baby. By God, it was awful--"''\\
''I couldn't forgive him or like him but I saw that what he had done was, to him, [[IDidWhatIHadToDo entirely justified]]. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made...''\\
''I shook hands with him; it seemed silly not to, for I felt suddenly as though I were talking to a child. [[ButForMeItWasTuesday Then he went into the jewelry store]] to buy a pearl necklace--or perhaps only a pair of cuff buttons--rid of my provincial squeamishness forever.''
%% * Rhoda Penmark in both the book and movie ''Literature/TheBadSeed''.
* In ''Literature/NineGoblins'', all wizards are a little cracked. So a little girl with powerful magic, who wants her brother back after he left with the army, [[spoiler:kills everyone in her village so she'd be taken to him]].
* Nightblood in ''{{Literature/Warbreaker}}'' is a sentient sword formed with the instruction "destroy evil". No one stopped to think that a sword has no way to understand a concept like "evil". Anyone purehearted is repelled by it; those that are not [[AxCrazy tend to cause a lot of damage]] [[CastFromHitPoints before Nightblood kills them]].
* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'': [[CreepyChild Bonesaw]] of the [[HeroKiller Slaughterhouse]] [[SerialKiller Nine]]. One of the worst serial killers in the Wormverse...but she doesn't necessarily do [[BodyHorror what she does]] out of malice. Rather, she feels the idea of a concrete moral system is absurd and doesn't apply to her. She just wants to do the activities that she finds fun and interesting. It just so happens that her idea of "fun and interesting" usually entails something along the lines of "[[BodyHorror horrific]] [[MadScientist human experimentation]] and [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]]".

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': River Tam has moments where she comes across like this, blended with ObliviouslyEvil. She's around seventeen and [[TeenGenius extremely intelligent]], but behaves like a child most of the time because of the [[MindRape damage to her mind]] both psychological and physical. On top of that, she experiences a lot of {{Hallucinations}} and has certain "triggers" that set her off (for instance, the Blue Sun logo and the "Fruit Oaty Bars" commercial), so often her perceptions don't match up with what's really happening in the first place. She does usually have a sense of right and wrong, but she's prone to sudden violence and also sometimes seems oblivious to social conventions.
** It was [[DiscussedTrope discussed by the other characters]] on one occasion, after she casually shot a couple of armed gunmen ''with her eyes closed'' and even lightheartedly bragged about it, like she'd come in first at a game.
* When [[spoiler:Reid]] on ''Series/CriminalMinds'' is kidnapped by a serial killer who only kills people when he has unambiguous proof that they are "sinners", Garcia says something hopeful about the idea that the killer might not hurt him, since he's "completely innocent". Morgan quite correctly points out that, when you're dealing with real people, there's no such thing. Turns out, he's right.
* In an episode of the 1960s TV show ''Series/{{The Defenders|1961}}'', the father and son team of lawyers defend a man accused of murder who says he is innocent. As they rise to hear the verdict, the defendant turns to his lawyer and says, "However it turns out, I want you to know I did it." [[spoiler:The verdict is "Not Guilty" and the man walks out a free man]].
* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "It's A Good Life", Anthony isn't a ''bad'' kid, but his basically-limitless powers make everyone too scared of him to actually teach him moral behavior or scold him in any way. As a result, he goes around creating strange animals that try to bite people, banish people he doesn't like to "the cornfield", turns his grandmother catatonic because she sang (which he hates), and changes a man who yells at him into a grotesque Jack-in-the-box. His lashing out at others is almost always followed by him justifying it by insisting that those people were "bad" to him. The revival series gave a sequel, "It's Still A Good Life", where we see that a now-grown Anthony kept many of his childish traits, including his simplistic views on people. He seems genuinely unable to understand why the townspeople are too afraid of his temper to actually try to beat him at bowling or why other parents don't like their children playing with his daughter. [[spoiler:On the subject of his daughter, the ending of the episode implies that she too falls under this trope. While she is shown to be sympathetic to the other townsfolk, occasionally using her father's love for her to calm him down so he won't hurt others, she does eventually banish everyone to the cornfield before bringing the entire world back to please her father. She and her father then plan to take trips to other cities, and she basically says that they'll do horrible things to anyone who isn't "nice" to them.]] The episode is [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation incredibly ambiguous]] as to whether Anthony learned anything or how his daughter turned out (for example, [[spoiler:was she really following in her father's footsteps, or was she trying to teach him a lesson without having to directly harm him?]]).
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The Fourth Doctor occasionally dabbles in this due to his ManChild qualities and the fact that he's simultaneously impossibly old and wise, creating an intentionally uncomfortable effect. It often appears that the playfully cruel or dangerous things he does (like intentionally hesitating before turning off a nuclear strike just to see the Brigadier squirm in "Robot", or the [[HeliumSpeech humiliating way]] he gets a MadScientist killed in "The Robots of Death", for just a couple of examples) are things he does because he innocently thinks they're funny, and he simply hasn't processed the cruelty involved. Or it could be he's well aware of his own cruelty and [[PsychopathicManchild simply doesn't care]].
** More sympathetic portrayals of the Daleks (see "Evil of the Daleks", "Dalek", "Asylum of the Daleks", and the audio dramas "The Davros Mission" and "Jubilee") often exploit this, as Daleks are genetically programmed to exterminate and have no concept of anything else -- so, in a lot of ways, are much more innocent than similarly evil humans. The Doctor in "Jubilee" even points this out to the humans in a speech that they made themselves into a Dalek analogue culture through choice, which is so much worse, while "The Davros Mission" is about a Thal psychologist trying to persuade Davros that he's -- unlike the Daleks--capable of making good decisions, unlike the Daleks which are psychologically incapable of knowing any better. Davros's InsaneTrollLogic justification for his actions in "Genesis of the Daleks" is based around the idea that since the Daleks' only goal is to survive, their mass genocide is "the power not of evil, but of good". [[RuleOfSymbolism He considers himself a god for having created them, but refuses to give them knowledge of good and evil in order to keep them morally pure.]]
* ''Series/{{Mindhunter}}'': Tench's son Brian. He was adopted from unknown origins and is anti-social and nonverbal. Then, he and a group of older boys end up killing a baby and strapping the body on a cross. The series never gives a simple answer as to what happened that night.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* There's an idea in lots of plays with WifeHusbandry (i.e. Moliere's ''The School for Wives'') that having an ignorant wife is not actually a good thing, as while they might be too ignorant to plan to cheat on you, they are also too ignorant to avoid being seduced. A good example of this idea is in the ''{{Literature/Flashman}}'' books with the title character's BrainlessBeauty wife Elspeth. While he's a HandsomeLech and deliberately a scoundrel, she is likely (it's never completely revealed) a nymphomaniac and serial adulteress who as Flashman notes is equally amoral because of her stupidity.
** Elspeth is ''so'' clueless that when Flashman first seduces her, she actually asks him, "Was that what the minister means by fornication?" [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Then again]], it might just be ObfuscatingStupidity.
[[/folder]]

* Suggested in the cases of both the Manpigs and the Engineer in ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs.'' During your explorations, you'll come across a series of cells in which you can observe non-hostile Manpigs trying to eat, playing with blocks, and weeping in corners. [[spoiler:It's suggested that the majority of them were made from the mentally disabled and the homeless]]. The Engineer is more obscure, but he comes across as quite child-like the further you go into the game. [[spoiler:His visions of the 20th century drove him to genuinely believe [[WellIntentionedExtremist that there was no other way to save humanity]] [[OmnicidalManiac other than to kill them all]] and begs Mandus to let him finish, seemingly quite puzzled and hurt by his attempts to sabotage the machine]].
* Quark from ''VideoGame/AtlasReactor'' is a {{keet}} EnergyBeing who doesn't seem to understand the whole "life" thing or why people consider it a big deal -- Quark pulls some atoms apart, Quark puts some back together... All in good fun. Basically, imagine if GIR was a PhysicalGod.
* ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'': Desco has been raised by a MadScientist her whole life for the sake of conquering the human world for her ambitious older sister. Her appearance and personality just scream "Cutest EldritchAbomination Ever". Enough said.
** In life, Artina was IncorruptiblePurePureness personified, so selfless and kind that even OmnicidalManiac Nemo exempted her from his HumansAreBastards mentality. Naturally she became an angel upon dying...specifically an angelic ''thief''. She retains her bright, sunny personality and claims her actions are fully justified (Celestia is "owed" that money because the Netherworld has been shirking its duties), but it's hard not to get the impression that she thoroughly enjoys her new criminal lifestyle. One could assume that while she's still a good person, she's embracing the opportunity to cut loose and cause trouble after a lifetime of pious servitude.

* Porky Minch of ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' is established early on as a bit of a bully, but not malicious and seems to view Ness as his friend. As the game goes on he becomes more of a jerk, however... [[spoiler: When Ness talks to him in [[DreamLand Magicant]], it's implied that Porky really wants to make amends and Ness can see right through his jerk act. When you confront [[EldritchAbomination Giygas]] at the end of the game, Porky appears alongside him and it's extremely difficult to tell if Giygas is controlling Porky or '' '''Porky is controlling Giygas]]'''''.

* ''VideoGame/HungryLamu'': Lamu's part of the game suggests he genuinely can't tell that he's doing bad things and just believes his "friends" are fully on board with being eaten. Then again, he uses some pretty sadistic methods to get his victims out of hiding and can go out of his way to destroy their car so the last remaining camper can't escape him, suggesting that part of him ''is'' aware of what he's really doing and enjoying every second. [[spoiler: On the other hand, Lamu's writings in their lair paint a different picture of them, as someone who's desperately trying to convince themselves that they're not doing anything wrong.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' is a five hour waltz with the many, many ways innocence can be [[PlayingWithATrope played with.]] The obvious example is Flowey the talking flower, but this quickly turns into a subversion. Flowey is well aware that he's doing terrible things. He just doesn't care.
** The first straight example in the game is [[spoiler:[[PlayerCharacter Frisk, the player-controlled character.]] Frisk's actions can range from Messianic heroism to slaughtering every monster in existence, and it's never clear how much of that is their choice and how much is the result of [[DemonicPossession outside influence...]]]]
** The second example is yet darker: [[spoiler: the first child to fall into the Underground. Ever-smiling, Chara appears to be completely disconnected from morality, driven solely by amusement. They only appear in the flesh [[YouBastard after you help them seize full control of Frisk's body by slaughtering every monster in the Underground,]] and most of their character [[NothingIsScarier is unnervingly vague.]]]] Was the character always this heartless? [[HumanoidAbomination Was the character ever even mortal to begin with?]] [[spoiler:[[CorruptTheCutie Did YOU do this?]]]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonTwo'', some of Clementime's comments make it unclear if she hasn't had TheTalk or is obfuscating naivety. Regardless, Bonnie tries to act as a MoralGuardian by telling off the others for telling bawdy jokes in Clem's presence.

* Orpha in ''VisualNovel/AseliaTheEternalTheSpiritOfEternitySword'' was raised to think of killing as a good thing. So she appears quite sadistic while completely unaware of how her behavior horrifies Yuuto. She wanted his approval and tried to get it the way she had been taught.
* In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', 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. [[spoiler:Of course, the part about murdering her mother is implied to be AllJustADream, indicating that deep down she really is afraid that Rosa doesn't love her]].
* The amorality of innocence is one of the major themes of ''VisualNovel/Remember11'', and is the foundation of one of its major twists: [[spoiler:there is one more person involved in Satoru and Kokoro's FreakyFridayFlip predicament--one of Utsumi's unborn twins, who killed Enomoto (and slashed his corpse with a knife as if it was a crayon) and wrecked the living room at SPHIA during a major tantrum. One of the TIPS describes the "baby colic" phenomenon as a baby's simultaneous desire and inability to recklessly "play" with the world]]. In addition, the childlike Hotori/Inubushi [[spoiler:kills a sick rat without the slightest remorse, rationalizing it as a MercyKill, which leads Satoru to theorize her spree killing at a hospital was born from the same motivation]].
* A big part of Marie's early characterization in ''VisualNovel/DiesIrae'' is that she is so innocent that she doesn't understand or even find anything wrong with the concept of murder. When the main character Ren confronts her with the prospect of them having to kill people, she just becomes confused and ends up wondering and asking him what the big deal is. When Ren tries to play to her sentimentality by asking if she would kill Kasumi, a person Marie became friends with just recently, she simply [[ArmorPiercingResponse responds with that yes, she would do it if asked to]] without a hint of malice in her declaration. In fact, to her, death and murder are described to be as natural as breathing. While she never quite loses this mindset, she eventually grows to understand why people have a problem with it.
* Matt Engarde of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'' gives off this vibe. He seems hopelessly clueless, always has a smile, and just doofy in general. It's hard to believe that he could have killed someone, despite some of the evidence against. As the case progresses, it becomes clear that the evidence against him is fabricated, and he seems genuinely happy though still weirdly clueless about what's going on. [[spoiler: Then Phoenix finds out that Matt hired the assassin that killed the victim, prompting Matt to reveal his ''real'' self, and this trope goes right out the window.]]

* The Dimension of Lame from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' is populated entirely by pure, innocent people. This makes manipulating them ''very'' easy for the DemonicInvaders. They equate peace with good, so were quite cheerfully looking to find Torg to turn over to the invading demons to get them to leave. So, good they are not, as they'll sell out anyone if it'll get them peace...no matter the horrible consequences for who they sell out.
* ''Webcomic/{{minus}}'': Basically the entire point, 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, from creating magical worlds of wonder to [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant effortlessly bringing nightmares to life]]; from creating a whole new afterlife to ending life as we know it.

* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'': [[RobotBuddy GIR]], who often comes across as sweet and innocent...certainly [[TheDitz dumb]]. But just as it's plain he doesn't understand the reason for conflict, he also often relishes in destruction. (And, as the episode in which he was stuck in "duty mode" demonstrated, if he worked properly, he ''would'' be evil.)
* Xavier of ''WesternAnimation/XavierRenegadeAngel'' is this trope in spades. He has a noble desire to help people, but his attempts to do good always result in death and suffering. For example, one episode has him transported to a dimension where time moves backwards. He sees a man getting run over by a car in reverse--Xavier sees the man as a bloody corpse miraculously healed, then walking backwards. So, what does Xavier do on his heroic quest? He steals a car and starts driving it backwards, killing dozens of people, believing that he is saving them.

** Despite being described as evil, the Flame Princess from isn't really malicious. It's just that, given she's never really set foot outside her home in the Fire Kingdom, she doesn't get that other creatures in the Land of Ooo don't like being set on fire, and her flames get dangerous when she gets ''too'' passionate, which causes problems when [[IdiotHero Finn]] falls in love with her.

* Stumpy from ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}''. He relishes in destruction, does horrible things to his friends, has [[BigBadWannabe tried to be a villain]]... it's not quite clear whether he is an innocent child or not.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': While [[Characters/TheOwlHouseTheCollector the Collector]] [[spoiler: is a centuries old, god-like being who drove the Titans to extinction and is helping Belos in his plan to wipe out all life on the Boiling Isles, their childlike nature makes it hard to know if the Collector even knows what they're doing is evil. When King overhears the Collector's private thoughts, they're expressing excitement at being free, no longer being alone and playing. They also truly consider Belos a friend and "playmate" and they consider the FinalSolution nature of the Day of Unity to be nothing more than a "chore" Belos tricked them into doing. Contrastingly, they seem ''ecstatic'' to play with King, and their suggestion is an ''actual'' game of hide-and-seek. Especially so with their TheDogBitesBack moment, as while they frame splattering Belos across the wall as a game of tag, the tone in which they say "I'm it" implies they not only know what's going to happen when they tag Belos, but only decided to "play" just to obliterate him which shows that they do understand the value of life...although they immediately assume Luz and her friends want to play tag as well and offers them a headstart. Showrunner [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CeXgiaputl9/?hl=en Dana Terrace]] even describes them in a Posthoot as an example of a "chaotic little character," and particularly one that is a "morally grey, neutral chaotic kind of motherf[ucker]."]]

** In their literal first interaction in the maternity ward, Bart managed to grab a lighter and set Homer's tie on fire. An upset Homer insisted that he'd done it on purpose, to which Marge replied, "How could he? He's only ten minutes old!" Of course, [[HilariousInFlashback we're seeing this from the perspective of the show's "present,"]] and [[EarlyPersonalitySigns given what we know of Bart's personality]], [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight Homer doesn't sound so crazy]].
** The "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" two-parter [[StatusQuoIsGod ultimately leads to zero arrests]] as [[spoiler:Burns was shot by baby Maggie in what all of Springfield could only assume was a freak accident. However, a close-up of Maggie at the end implies that she may have done it on purpose, and it's all but confirmed by later episodes that prove her to be a [[BadassAdorable highly capable crack shot]].]]

* ComicBook/LenoreTheCuteLittleDeadGirl, the cheerful grave-dancing girl in the page image, is an innocent {{undead|Child}} abomination who has a habit of accidentally killing all her pets. From her page: Lenore's actions often result in the death or injury to those around her, and in various forms of chaos, yet she is not a malicious character, and often thinks she is doing good. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Maybe]].
* A character (or, rather, a [[TarotMotifs Basanos Card]]) from ''ComicBook/{{Lucifer}}'' is called "Innocence" and takes the form of a young girl. She turns out to be pretty much out-and-out evil in the end.

* ''Series/{{Mindhunter}}'': Tench's son Brian. He was adopted from unknown origins, suffers from some AmbiguousDisorder and is anti-social and nonverbal. Then, he and a group of older boys end up killing a baby and strapping the body on a cross. The series never gives a simple answer as to what happened that night.

* Xavier of ''WesternAnimation/XavierRenegadeAngel'' is this trope in spades. He has a noble desire to help people, but his attempts to do good always result in death and suffering. For example, one episode has him transported to a dimension where time moves backwards. He sees a man getting run over by a car in reverse--Xavier sees the man as a bloody corpse miraculously healed, then walking backwards. So what does Xavier do on his heroic quest? He steals a car and starts driving it backwards, killing dozens of people, believing that he is saving them.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' introduces, in the ''Shadowbringers'' expansion, Lord Vauthry, ruler of Eulmore. [[FatBastard An obese, oversized man]] with [[{{Gonk}} rolls of fat for a neck]] who [[TheBeastmaster somehow]] is able to command [[AngelicAbomination Sin Eaters]] into ''not'' [[TheVirus immediately attacking]] and [[TransformationHorror infecting]] his people, while sheltering [[MonsterLord a Lightwarden]] somewhere in his city... all while declaring that [[ItsAllAboutMe the entire world should obey his whims]]. His [[PsychopathicManchild proclamations are sadistic]], his [[DisproportionateRetribution temper short]], and his [[LateToThePunchline reaction to insults delayed]]. It's then revealed that [[spoiler:he ''is'' the Lightwarden, having been [[HalfHumanHybrid infused with one's essence in the womb]], merely an "unascended" one, and raised to believe that [[TautologicalTemplar whatever he did was just and right]]]]. When he finally [[spoiler:[[BishounenLine transforms]], the trope itself becomes an incredibly fitting name for his "true" self, Innocence, for even as the players beat him down, he ''cannot'' grasp why these "villains" have gone out of their way to attack him, why his "[[RightMakesMight righteousness]]" cannot stop them, or what he's done to deserve it]]. He's very much in the wrong, but his horribly tainted worldview means [[TragicMonster he can't begin to understand how to make amends]], or even that he ''[[MoralMyopia should]]''.