Lee Chaolan

Lee Chaolan (Chinese: 李 超狼; pinyin: Lǐ Chāoláng; Japanese: リー・チャオラン; Hepburn: Rī Chaoran) is a player character from the Tekken fighting game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment. He is an orphan adopted by Heihachi Mishima, head of the Mishima Zaibatsu corporation, and later becoming embroiled in a one-sided rivalry with his adoptive brother, Kazuya Mishima. The defeat of Kazuya is Lee's primary objective in entering the King of Iron Fist fighting tournaments. Since making his debut in the original Tekken, Lee has been a mainstay in the series, appearing in every subsequent game except for Tekken 3, and has at times appeared as an alter ego named Violet, who is additionally playable in several series installments. Outside of the games, Lee has appeared in two animated Tekken films, and he has received a positive critical reception for his flamboyant personality and particularly his Tekken 5 ending.

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lee (李).
Lee Chaolan
Tekken character
Lee in Tekken 7
First appearanceTekken (1994)[1]
Created bySeiichi Ishii
Portrayed byAnthony Pho (Tekken Tag Tournament 2 live-action short film)[2]
Voiced by
Motion captureYuichiro Hirose (Tekken: Blood Vengeance)
In-universe information
OccupationSecretary (Tekken)
CEO of Violet Systems
(since TK4)
High school teacher (Tekken: Blood Vengeance)
Fighting styleJeet Kune Do (current)
Mishima-ryu Karate (former)
OriginChina
NationalityJapanese (naturalized)

Appearances

In video games

Lee is the Chinese adoptive son of Heihachi Mishima, whose own son Kazuya's defeat is Lee's motivation for entering the numerous King of Iron Fist tournaments held throughout the Tekken series.[5] Lee was adopted by Heihachi to provide a rival for Kazuya, who he felt was too weak to lead his Mishima Zaibatsu company.[6] Lee studies in the United States alongside Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law. After Kazuya wins control of the company, Lee works as Kazuya's secretary, in addition to overseeing Kazuya's team of bodyguards and Dr. Bosconovitch's experiments, all while secretly hoping to take over the Zaibatsu. However, Lee is soon expelled from the Zaibatsu for unknown reasons while Heihachi disowns him,[6] causing him to leave the world of fighting and pursuing a career in robotics.[6]

Lee returns in Tekken 4 as a playboy whose robotics operation is a success. Upon learning that the Zaibatsu's rival G Corporation was attacked by the Tekken Force, Lee joins the fourth tournament after changing his appearance and calling himself Violet in order to conceal his identity,[7] while hoping to test his new "Combot" experiment in the process.[5][8] However, he is defeated early by Kazuya, whom Lee had believed to be dead, but he then learns someone else had controlled the Zaibatsu in Heihachi's absence. Believing it to be Kazuya, Lee enters the fifth tournament in Tekken 5 to take him out personally and regain control of the Zaibatsu, but upon learning that the culprit is Heihachi's father Jinpachi, he drops out of the tournament and returns to his business.[5] After Kazuya legitimately takes control of the company, Lee enters the next tournament in attempt again to come in contact with Kazuya. In the game's "Scenario Campaign" story mode, Lee joins forces with Julia Chang, Lars Alexandersson, and Dr. Bosconovitch's android daughter Alisa, due to their shared objective of stopping Kazuya and Jin, but Lee and Lars are not aware at first that Alisa was created to serve Jin, thus acting as a mole for Lars. When Alisa is destroyed at the climax, Lee promises Lars that she will be reconstructed with his company's resources, which he finally succeeded at the same time of Heihachi's return in the seventh tournament.[5]

Lee is selectable in the noncanonical games Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 3D: Prime Edition, and Tekken Revolution.

Design and gameplay
Lee's alter ego Violet in Tekken 7

The first Tekken features Lee wearing a simple purple vest and black pants, a color palette that would regularly be used for the character.[9] In Tekken 4, Lee has a more formal design with a purple dress shirt, white vest and matching pants.[8] Lee's primary outfit for Tekken 5 and 6 is a retread of his original costume from the first game embellished with a fishnet undershirt and a black collar.[10] An alternate Tekken 5 costume was designed by manga artist and character designer Ryōji Minagawa.[11] For Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Lee wears a black leather vest with a unicorn printed on the back.[12] Lee's Tekken 7 design is his most elaborate, with a suit and tie worn beneath a long purple overcoat.[13] A constant for Lee throughout his series appearances has been his silver hair, which, as Violet, changes to dark purple to go with an open-chested purple dress shirt and sunglasses.[7] In response to a fan's tweet requesting Lee's inclusion in Tekken 7, Tekken producer Katsushiro Harada joked that a future installment would need to include "130 characters" to satisfy the series' fanbase.[14]

GameSpy considered non-walled arenas in Tekken 4 and Tekken 5 to be a disadvantage for Lee players, but added that he was among "the faster characters in the game" with "good combo ability".[15] The site said of Lee in Tekken 6, "Lee has the best use of Okizeme[note 1] in the game", though his "attacks only have average reach and damage."[16] 1UP.com wrote in 2013: "Playing mind games with your opponent is one of Lee’s specialties. After a juggle, you have the option to manipulate your opponent in whether to stay on the ground, roll back, or get straight back up."[17] Tekken Tag Tournament 2 includes a "Fight Lab" tutorial, where players control training robot Combot under Violet's guidance and face a series of bizarre opponents.[18]

In other media

Lee appears in the 1997 OVA Tekken: The Motion Picture as one of the main antagonists. In the film, he is mentioned as being a former underground fighter known as the Silver Devil. Heihachi plans to hand the Mishima Zaibatsu over to Kazuya should he defeat Heihachi in the upcoming tournament, but Lee wants the company for himself and therefore hires assassins Nina and Anna Williams to kill Kazuya, a task they repeatedly fail. During the tournament, Lee tests his new experiments on the fighters: humanoid dinosaurs called Rex (based on Alex). His plan backfires as Anna is devoured by one of the creatures, while Kazuya kills the others before scaring the last surviving one away. Lee then confronts Kazuya at the doors of the Zaibatsu tower, but he is beaten with a single punch and Heihachi discards him for being worthless. Lee subsequently commits suicide by entering the tower, killing all its security personnel before setting the island's self-destruction sequence, and remaining inside when it explodes. The explosion causes a chain reaction that takes out the entire island that had served as the tournament grounds, but both Kazuya and Heihachi escape in time.[19] Lee was voiced by Shin-ichiro Miki in the original Japanese version, and by David Stokey in the film's English dubbing.

Lee's personality differs in the 2011 CGI film Tekken: Blood Vengeance, in which he has a minor role as a wealthy and eccentric teacher at Kyoto International School.[20] He aids Alisa, Ling Xiaoyu, and Panda during an escape by providing them shelter, but part of his mansion is later destroyed in a fight between Anna and Nina.[21] He was voiced by Ryôtarô Okiayu in the original Japanese version, and by Kaiji Tang in the English dub.

Lee appears in the YouTube webseries, "Tekken Stop Motion Web Series" in episode 2 where he battles Kazuya.


Reception
While Lee was a bit on the uninteresting side in the early games, his return to action [in Tekken 4] led to him becoming one of the better comedy characters when need be. His endings for the last three games are all based on him casually demeaning Heihachi in humorous ways. He’ll also randomly appear in the background of other endings—usually the comedic ones—just to react with a smile and a thumbs up. They really should just make the [Tekken] series about him.

—Gavin Jasper, 4thletter.net, 2012[7]

Elton Jones of Complex described Lee in 2012 as "Heihachi's adopted son and the man that invented 'swagged out martial arts.'"[22] Tom Goulter of GamesRadar remarked on Lee's adoption into the Mishima family: "One suspects that the entire storyline of Tekken would be rendered void if anyone had just given the young Heihachi some decent parenting literature."[23] Gavin Jasper of 4thletter.net ranked Lee's Tag Tournament 2 ending, in which a tuxedo-clad Lee nonchalantly beats up a group of soldiers while walking with his assistant to his robotics laboratory, 125th in his 2013 rating of the 200 greatest fighting game endings: "When people describe someone as being 'like a boss,' they’re really comparing him to Lee Chaolan."[24] Mike Luces of International Business Times considered Lee's inclusion in Tekken 7 to be a "highlight" of the game.[25] Rich Knight of Complex ranked Lee's appearance in Tekken: Blood Vengeance as the fifth-"craziest" Tekken series moment in 2012: "Lee is probably one of the weirdest characters we’ve ever seen, as he’s giving random thumbs up and calling young girls his 'kittens.'"[26] Charles Webb of MTV.com described Lee's extravagant mansion in the film as "the definition of 'swag'".[27] In an official fan poll hosted by Namco in 2012, Lee was the eleventh-most requested Tekken character (9.28% of 88,280 votes) for inclusion in the crossover fighter Tekken X Street Fighter, in which he did not appear.[28]

Lee's Tekken 5 ending, which depicts him living luxuriously with Heihachi as his personal servant dressed only in swim briefs and a bow tie,[29] has received critical attention for its perceived homoeroticism. In 2009, Michael Harradence of PlayStation Universe ranked it as the seventh-greatest Tekken ending of all time: "Lee enjoys the fruits of his labor and humiliates Heihachi by having him serve as his thong-wearing poolside lackey."[29] However, Cracked.com included it in their 2013 feature "6 Video Game Endings That Are Clearly F#@%ing With Us," commenting: "There is not a doubt in my mind that the makers of that cutscene had to delete 40 minutes of video because the rating system would not allow for a full-length hardcore gay porno."[30] In his 2013 feature "10 Video Game Endings with Disturbing Implications You Totally Missed", Simon Gallagher of WhatCulture placed Lee's ending third: "All of this strange Oedipal mesh plays out as both men are wearing nothing more than speedos ... and we are encouraged to laugh at the misfortune of the fallen villain (as well as marvel at his firm, ancient body) while he is powerless to run or fight back. Seriously?"[31]

Notes
  1. A term used in fighting games in reference to pressuring downed opponents as they get up.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: ?¿
gollark: Sure, I guess.
gollark: No, but it's nice to be able to refer to "Protagonism Street" and have there be no ambiguity.
gollark: ./warp choruscity

References
  1. "Lee Chaolan". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  2. Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe (October 29, 2012). "TEKKEN Tag Tournament 2 - Live Action Short Film by Wild Stunts Europe". YouTube. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  3. "Voice Of Lee Chaolan - Tekken | Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 30, 2018. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources
  4. "Voice Actor Kaiji Tang Joining Otakon 2015 Guest Roster". Anime News Network. June 12, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  5. Jasper, Gavin (June 19, 2016). "Tekken: The Strange History of the Mishima Family". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  6. Ramirez, Frederick (August 22, 2016). "Tekken 7's New Characters and Story Bits Revealed at GamesCom 2016". technoaisle.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  7. Jasper, Gavin (March 17, 2012). "The Top 15 Best Fighting Game Storylines: Part 2 (10-6)". 4thletter.net. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  8. "Lee Chaolan Tekken 4 ending (still)". YouTube. August 24, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  9. "Lee Chaolan/Violet". Fighters Generation. October 24, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  10. Bandai Namco (2007). "Lee Chaolan Tekken 6 render". Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  11. Green, Scott (August 15, 2012). "Diverse Artists Put Together the Latest, Strangest 'Tekken' Guest Costumes". Crunchyroll.com. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  12. Bandai Namco (2011). "Lee Chaolan Tekken Tag Team Tournament 2 render". Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  13. Mircevic, Zoran (August 17, 2016). "TEKKEN 7 - Lee Chaolan / Violet Character Reveal Trailer". AvoidingthePuddle.com. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  14. Walker, Ian (March 10, 2015). "Would Fans Be Satisfied If Tekken Featured Over 100 Playable Characters?". Shoryuken.com. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  15. "Tekken 5 Walkthrough & Strategy Guide". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. January 18, 2005. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  16. "Tekken 6 Characters Guide: Lee Chaolan". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. January 15, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  17. "Lee - Tekken 6 Walkthrough Strategy Guide". 1UP.com. IGN Entertainment. January 30, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  18. Douglas, Jane (July 9, 2012). "Tekken Tag Tournament 2's Fight Lab Will Make a Fighter of You". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  19. "Tekken: The Motion Picture - Movie Reviews and Ratings". TVGuide.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  20. Jasper, Gavin (August 17, 2016). "Tekken 7: Lee Chaolan's Here and He's Excellent". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  21. Byrd, Antonio (July 29, 2011). "Three epic unnecessary choices in Tekken: Blood Vengeance". VentureBeat. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  22. Jones, Elton (2012-05-17). "39. Lee Chaolan — The 50 Most Dominant Fighting Game Characters". Complex. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  23. Goulter, Tom (September 4, 2012). "Tekken Tag Tournament 2 roster - Meet all 55 fighters". GamesRadar. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  24. Jasper, Gavin (May 25, 2013). "The Top 200 Fighting Game Endings: Part Four". 4thletter.net. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  25. Luces, Mike (August 18, 2016). "'Tekken 7: Fated Retribution': 5 Things We Learned From Gamescom 2016". International Business Times. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  26. Knight, Rich (2012-10-12). "'Tekken's' 15 Most Craziest Moments". Complex. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  27. Webb, Charles (August 1, 2011). "Review: 'Tekken: Blood Vengeance' Juggles Absurdity and Action". MTV.com. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  28. "Tekken vs Street Fighter". Fb.namcobandaigames.com. 2012. Archived from the original on August 13, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  29. Harradence, Michael (October 27, 2009). "The top ten greatest Tekken endings of all time". PlayStation Universe. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  30. Cheese, John (April 18, 2013). " "6 Video Game Endings That Are Clearly F#@%ing With Us". Cracked.com. E. W. Scripps Company. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  31. Gallagher, Simon (May 6, 2013). "10 Video Game Endings with Disturbing Implications You Totally Missed". WhatCulture. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
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