Biglobe Rankings recently got a huge response for something of an interesting question. Over 10,000 Japanese fans responded to a call to name their favorite pure/innocent anime heroine. The complexities come in how you define an innocent heroine. Explicitly it's not male. Implicitly, it's not a young child, but not too old either.

Characters who fit the bill included:

1. Hyouka's Chitanda Eru
2. K-On!'s Akiyama Mio
3. Angel Beats!'s Tenshi
4. Madoka Magica's Akemi Homura
5. CLANNAD After Story's Nagisa Furukawa
6. K-On!'s  AzusaNakano 
7. Sword Art Online's Asuna
8. Haruhi's Nagato Yuki
9. K-On!'s Kotobuki Tsumugi
10. Bakemonogatari's Tsubasa Hanekawa 
11. Madoka Magica's Mami Tomoe 
12. Saki's Saki Miyanaga
13. Tari Tari's Sawa Okita 
14. Sword Art Online's Yui
15. Sword Art Online's Suguha Kirigaya 
16. The Pet Girl of Sakurasou's Mashiro Shiina 
17. Fate's Saber
18. Gintama's Okita Mitsuba
19. Accel World's Kuroyukihime
20. To Love-Ru's Sairenji Haruna
21. Chihayafuru's Oe Kanade 
22. CLANNAD' After Story's Fujibayashi Ryou
23. My Ordinary Life's  Nano Shinonome 
24. CLANNAD After Story's Yukine Miyazawa
25. A Certain Magical Index's Kanzaki Kaori

26. YuruYuri's Akarin

27. Fullmetal Alchemist's Riza Hawkeye

28. (tie) Detective Conan's Ran Mouri

28. (tie) Beelzebub's Aoi Kunieda

30. Bakemonogatari's Nadeshiko Sengoku

31. Hidamari Sketch's Yuno

32. Polar Bear Cafe's Sasako

33. Detective Conan's Kazuha Toyama

34. (tie) Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai's Yukimura Kusunoki

34. (tie) Seitokai Yakuindomo's Amakusa Shino

36. Another's Mei Misaki

37. Idolmaster's Kisaragi Chihaya

38. Ichigo 100%'s Aya Tojo

39. Little Busters!'s Mio Nishizono

40. Sakura Wars' Sakura Shinguji

41. Waiting in the Summer's Kanna Tanigawa

42. Total Eclipse's Takamura Yui

43. (tie) Tokyo Mew Mew's Lettuce Midorikawa

43. (tie) School Rumble's Yakumo Tsukamoto

45. (tie) The Law of Ueki's Rink Jerrard

45. (tie) Shukufuku no Campanella's Carina

47. Twinkle Jewelpet's Sakura Akari

48. Zombie Loan's Michiru Kita

49. Cross Fight Bidaman's Ruri Tenpouin

50. Anyamaru Tantei Kiruminzuu's Nagisa Mikogami

How would you define an innocent heroine and who's your favorite?

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.