10. Serah (Final Fantasy XIII-2)
Initially a side character and living MacGuffin in Final Fantasy XIII, Serah becomes the main character of Final Fantasy XIII-2, and gets a lot of much-needed agency. Compared to her more distant sister Lightning, Serah is joyful, outwardly loving, and wears her selflessness on her sleeve. As the reality of XIII-2’s time travel shenanigans make it clear that saving s the timeline will lead to her death, she dives headfirst into it without hesitation. The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy is full of selfless heroes, but the immediacy with which Serah puts herself on the line for others stands out. She doesn’t need to doubt. She doesn’t need to fear. It makes it tragic when it comes to light she was playing right into the hands of Caius, the villain who seeks to stop time itself for his own noble cause, but she believes in her heart this is what she has to do.
