stories where main characters change themselves in ways which are basically improvements-- getting beyond the usual human is a plus, but for purposes of this discussion I'm including any significant positive change.
I wouldn't consider Dune or Neuromancer to meet those criteria.
Dune is a retelling of a very old colonial myth, where the white man goes to live amongst the savages, and, being white, immediately becomes the best of them. He then realizes the deep wisdom they have, the value of their connection to their environment, and leads them against the rest of the white men to eventually be the leader of the savages and possibly also whites. This is Dune, but also Avatar, Dances with Wolves, Fern Gully (IIRC) and several others.
Paul doesn't improve -- he is a superhero whose power is privilege. Since he never has to confront the privilege of being a colonial, I would say Paul never grows in any substantial way.
Neuromancer is a fun cyberpunk story, and definitely worth reading, but the main characters don't really improve. They have incredible experiences, but the bleakness of cyberpunk means that these experiences are quickly ground to dust by the world they live in. I think the epilogue was pretty clear on that.
Dark City and Limitless are also basically superhero movies, except in Limitless the superpower is Adderall.
I'd be interested to see how any of the above display themes of characters improving themselves by figuring out what self-improvement tactics work or don't work -- they're all fantastic stories and movies (Dune is a bit tired, but builds an evocative world at least), and I'd like to be able to go back to them and have something new to experience.
I just watched this, a very pretty version of "don't try to make yourself different, just accept who you are", and I realized that self-directed change in fiction is a worthwhile topic.
What I'm looking for is stories where main characters change themselves in ways which are basically improvements-- getting beyond the usual human is a plus, but for purposes of this discussion I'm including any significant positive change.
Another big plus would be the character needing to learn which of their goals make sense, and which methods work.
**ETA:** That was a bit of a stub-- HPMOR is partly about Harry and Hermione changing themselves, generally for the better I think (I've only read it once). It would be interesting to see what happens if Quirrell decides he needs to upgrade himself.
*Stranger in a Strange Land* is an interesting partial example-- the Martian language is presumably an upgrade for the human race, but it was developed by and for Martians, and needs some modification.
A *lot* of relatively recent fiction has people learning martial arts. I think appearance makeovers (typically for women) have become less common. I don't think there's a lot of fiction about appearance makeovers for men-- *The Stars My Destination* has one, but it's offstage. It wouldn't surprise me if *The Count of Monte Cristo* (frequently referenced with TSMD) has one.