Rock Lee

For the basketballer, see Rock Lee (basketball).
Rock Lee
Naruto character
Rock Lee by Masashi Kishimoto
First appearance
  • Naruto chapter 36: Sakura's Depression
Created byMasashi Kishimoto
Voiced byJapanese
Yōichi Masukawa[1]
English
Brian Donovan[2]
Notable relativesMetal Lee (son)
Ninja rankGenin in Part I
Chunin in Part II
Jonin in epilogue
Ninja teamTeam Guy

Rock Lee (Japanese: ロック・リー, Hepburn: Rokku Rī) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto and Naruto Shippuden created by Masashi Kishimoto. At first Masashi designed Lee to symbolize human strength.[3][4] In the anime and manga, Lee is a ninja affiliated with the village of Konohagakure, and is a member of Team Guy, which consists of himself, Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Might Guy—the team's leader. Unable to use most ninja techniques, Lee dedicates himself to using solely taijutsu, ninja techniques similar to martial arts. Lee dreams of becoming a "splendid ninja" despite his inabilities. Lee has appeared in several pieces of Naruto media, including the third and fourth featured films in the series, the third original video animation, and multiple video games.

Numerous anime and manga publications have commented on Lee's character. IGN compared Lee to Bruce Lee and Noel Gallagher,[5] and Anime News Network called Lee the "goofiest looking character" in the series.[6] Among the Naruto reader base, Lee has been popular, placing high in several popularity polls.[7][8] Numerous pieces of merchandise have been released in Lee's likeness, including figurines and plush dolls.[9][10]

  1. ^ Studio Pierrot (February 27, 2003). "名乗れ！現れた強敵たち!!". Naruto. Episode 21. TV Tokyo.
  2. ^ Studio Pierrot (January 28, 2006). "Identify Yourself: Powerful New Rivals!". Naruto. Episode 21. Cartoon Network.
  3. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2006). Naruto Anime Profiles, Volume 1: Episodes 1-37. Viz Media. ISBN 1-4215-0657-2.
  4. ^ Shonen Jump. 4 (5). Viz Media: 4. May 2006.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  5. ^ Sparrow, A.E. (2007-11-09). "IGN: Naruto Reader's Guide". IGN. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  6. ^ Kimlinger, Karl (2006-11-02). "Naruto GN 8-10 - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  7. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2005). "Chapter 60". Naruto, Volume 7. Viz Media. ISBN 1-59116-875-9.
  8. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2006). "Chapter 107". Naruto, Volume 12. Viz Media. ISBN 1-4215-0242-9.
  9. ^ "Amazon.com: Shonen Jumps Naruto Rock Lee". Amazon. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  10. ^ "Amazon.com: NARUTO ROCK LEE 12"PLUSH TOY". Archived from the original on 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2008-06-15.