Neon Genesis Evangelion: Scenes

Personal Heroes

What is a hero? Is it the famous figurehead or the saint behind the curtains who reaches out to each and every child specifically? For me, the definition of a hero is rougly one who inspires, whom can be looked up to, and one whom can be sought upon as a role model. In this sense, I have a hundred personal heroes (some of whom are quite, for lack of a better description, weird), but there are those which stand out in my mind, based on two reasons: the fact that these special heroes can be recognized by an audience larger than that of my family, and the prediction that, if ever someone asked me who my hero was, then the ones I would reveal would be from this list. Given, that, here are my role models, the ones who spring up quickest in my mind, in order from the fictional to nonfictional:

Ayanami Rei, from Neon Genesis Evangelion, by Hideaki Anno, who found meaning in living, and love in the smallest things.
Himura Kenshin (Shinta), from Rurouni Kenshin, by Nobuhiro Watsuki, who first found redemption, and then purpose through the multiple sagas in life.
Mutsumi Otohime, from Love Hina, by Ken Akamatsu, who makes up for what she lacks in common sense with her unique intelligence, wisdom, and natural affection.
Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the definition of integrity and self-understanding, a role model to all boys and men.
Andrew (a.k.a. Ender) Wiggin, from Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, the conquerer or a species, blessed (or cursed) to be the only person ever to understand his enemies, if only after the war had been fought.
Mitth'raw'nuruodo (a.k.a. Grand Admiral Thrawn), from Timothy Zhan's Star Wars trilogy and subsequent sequels, whose genius and overall being is just too damned cool.
Cyrano de Bergerac, from Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand, the noble warrior poet, my first tragic hero.
Prince Hamlet, from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, whose cunning, endurance, and deep thought showed when one's life becomes truly his.
Dante Alighieri, author of Dante's Inferno, who recognized the power of literature versus words in order to move the world.
Mother, whose life is the ultimate depiction of hapless circumstance, who still maintains the will that finds a way to inspire me towards both life and God.
Jesus Christ, who found a way to always be holy in the midst of all that was against him and what he wished for humanity.