Jann Lee

Jann Lee (ジャン・リー, Jan Rī) is a bouncer and Jeet Kune Do martial artist that made his debut in the first Dead or Alive. Throughout the series, Jann Lee's only goal is to become the greatest fighter of all time. To get to his goal, Jann Lee enters the Dead or Alive Tournament to prove his skills against others who join.

Jann Lee has made many friendly rivals through the series, like Leifang, Ryu Hayabusa and Hitomi to name a few. Like other Jeet Kune Do characters before him, Jann Lee is very similar to the late martial artist and movie star.

Early Life
Jann Lee has never seen the faces of his parents; they died when he was very young and left him an orphan, alone to fend for himself. He lived in poverty, having to wander the streets for food, and faced many hardships. In order to protect himself, Jann Lee learned Jeet Kune Do by watching various martial arts films; especially from Bruce Lee. At first he fought to replace the feelings of loss from when his parents died, but eventually Jann Lee fought purely for the sake of fighting. Eventually, he got skilled enough to get a job as a bouncer at a high-class club.

Several years before the first tournament, he saved a young girl who was challenged by a gang of street fighters. Though prepared to take them on single-handedly, Leifang was suddenly rescued by Jann Lee. This incident left her determined to find and defeat him.

The First Tournament
Jann Lee entered the first Dead or Alive Tournament for the sake of the fight. Now the self-taught master of Jeet Kune Do, he seeks the thrill of battle whenever he can. During the tournament, he meets the girl that he saved - Leifang - who is ready to defeat him to prove that she is a great fighter like him. However, Jann Lee wins and Leifang goes on to train harder.

The Second Tournament
Jann Lee fights from his soul. He appears at battles where only the strongest of men fight. He strives for each attack to be the most powerful strike he has ever made in his life. For this reason, Jann Lee once again enters the Dead or alive tournaments.

Fighting his way along the tournament, Jann Lee crosses arms with the ninja Ryu Hayabusa, who warns him about the real nature of the tournament and claims that he will not be able to survive long. Afterwards, he meets Leifang again. Having perfected her Kung-fu, she vows to prove to the man who saved her that she can handle things on her own.

Despite Jann Lee defeating Leifang again, it was Ryu who made it to the final round, and who would later kill the Tengu Gohyakumine Bankotsubo, and win the tournament. Returning home, he tests his strength against a giant tree, which he easily destroys with a single punch. It would suggest that Jann Lee came in 2nd place of the Tournament.

The Third Tournament
Jann Lee, the fighter without a cause, still walks a lonely path. Though the reputation of Jann Lee - the Dragon, as he is called - is universal, his search for a stronger enemy never ends. His presence is still prominent in the third Dead or Alive tournament, and his battle cry can still be heard.

Along the way, he meets Hitomi for the first time. Sharing a keen passion for martial arts, the two shared martial arts philosophies and demonstrated their own martial arts skills. Continuing, he encounters Leon, who praised him for making it far in the tournament, all the while claiming that he is the strongest.

Aboard the Freedom Survivor, Leifang, having trained hard, asks for another rematch with Jann Lee. However, he ignores her challenge and starts to walk away. Nearby, Hitomi and Hayate are about to have a friendly spar when Leifang is thrown by Jann Lee across the room, landing on a nearby table. Hitomi intrudes and gets mad at him for being too hard, but Leifang insists that she stay out of their business. Ignoring both girls, Jann Lee notices Hayate and asks for a fight.

After the tournament, Jann Lee returns home to his job as a bouncer. While working, Jann Lee stops a group of arrogant customers from defacing a table inside the club. Challenging them outside, Jann Lee manages to defeat the group all by himself, causing the leader of the group to flee in fear.

The Fourth Tournament
The heat that burns the soul and the scorching that says you are truly alive; these all come from the power of the fist. What Jann Lee is really searching for is the elation, the heat, which comes from trading blows with one who is truly powerful. This is the only reason that Jann Lee attempts to emerge victorious in the next Dead or Alive tournament.

Fighting his way along the fourth tournament, Jann Lee "rescues" a distracted Hitomi from a dinosaur. Even though Hitomi was almost eaten by the creature, she found Jann Lee's approach to be quite "cruel". Ryu Hayabusa and Jann Lee also encounter each other again, and they both have a friendly Nunchaku exhibition before sparring.

At the beginning of the destruction of DOATEC, Leifang meets Jann Lee in the Great Hall, and once again Leifang challenges him. However, in a shocking turn of events, Jann Lee is the one who lost. With Leifang having finally proven to herself and to Jann Lee that she is a great fighter, she continues along the tournament. Along the way, she encounters Alpha-152, who proved to be too powerful. Jann Lee mysteriously appears and once again rescues her.

After the tournament, Jann Lee returns to his normal, everyday life in China. While playing the trumpet, Jann Lee remembers his childhood.

The Fifth Tournament
Jann Lee is initially introduced training with nunchaku in the Temple of the Dragon, where he is approached by Kokoro, who is passing through. He notices Kokoro walk in on his exercise turned demonstration, beckoning her to display her skills with the weapon as he tosses them toward her. Kokoro chooses not to catch them, causing them to go through a vase and break it, causing Kokoro to ask why he did it. Following this, they proceed to battle.

Lee is later seen in a bar, shoving Brad into a table, telling him to leave, insulting him as he does. Rig attempts to break up the fight, which can be seen as successful, as Lee is no longer focused on Brad; now he's focused on Rig. He challenges Rig to a fight, noting that he looks like a real fighter. Following this, they battle, which Lee loses.

While training in a forest in South America, Lee is approached by Zack, who gives him an invitation to Dead or Alive 5. Jann Lee accepts the invite but he challenges Zack to fight. During this time, Hitomi and Leifang observe from the forest, though he seems not to notice them.

Later in New York, Lee is seen leaving a gym as he is shadowed by Leifang. He is followed into the train by Leifang, during which he prevents a middle aged man from accidentally groping her as the train comes to an abrupt stop. Following this, Lee challenges Leifang to a fight, noting that he would gladly accept a match with her, misunderstanding her true intentions. They proceed to fight. However, the train crashes and tips to the side, resulting in Lee and Leifang collapsing onto one of the walls, with her on top of him.

During the tournament, Lee's opponent during the quarterfinals is Leifang, who is still embarrassed by the train car incident. Lee tells her to focus on the fight, following which they battle, resulting in Lee's victory marking his fourth win against her. Following this, Lee battles Bass Armstrong, which is another victory for him. He then fights Hitomi in the finals, a match in which he is victorious, granting him the title of champion of the fifth Dead or Alive tournament. However, before he can be crowned by Zack, he escapes to a bar, noting that he only has one more person to defeat. The screen goes over images of Rig, suggesting that he is holding a grudge toward him for the defeat earlier in the story.

Appearance
Also see: Jann Lee's Outfit Catalogues

Jann Lee has a slightly tanned complexion, which appears darker in the later games. He has spiky dark-brown hair, small light-hazel eyes, and peculiar looking eye brows; going down in a curve with a thin part going up. One other noticeable feature in all of his appearances is his muscular build, which is apparent as he usually appears shirtless. He is startlingly buff, with highly defined biceps and arms, broad chest, carved abdominal six-pack, and a muscular back.

Most of the muscular men wear shirts, but not Jann Lee; showing his upper body, he usually only wears kenpo pants, and sometimes, different martial arts outfits ranging from Bruce Lee's signature yellow jumpsuit, to Kung-fu suits with a dragon emblem, also usually associated with Bruce Lee. Being a bouncer of a high-class club, several of his outfits are also formal suits.

In Dead or Alive 5, his overall design was changed only slightly. While still retaining his signature hair, muscular build, and outfit themes, he appears to have a lighter, more yellow-toned skin, making him look more closer to his Chinese roots.

Personality
Being a self-taught master of Jeet Kune Do, Jann Lee is a very confident fighter. In fact, he can become so overconfident to the point of him appearing quite arrogant. On fights, he sometimes declares another win for himself, or that his fist has never once let him down. Jann Lee also loves to fight. Seeking to prove his strength against strong opponents, he never stops looking for a challenge. After winning a fight, he'll comment on how weak the opponent was; things like "You'll have to hit me harder than that!", or "Come on, make my blood boil!", suggesting his desire to fight a stronger opponent.

In addition, Jann Lee likes to train constantly and, when he's not sparring, he's working out. For him, physical conditioning is almost an obsession. Jann Lee believes in strength and power, and he believes that one must feel the power within oneself.

Etymology
Jann Lee's name in Chinese is written 李強 (Pinyin: Li Qiang, Cantonese: Lee Keong). In the case of Bruce and Jann Lee's names, Bruce's name, Lee Jun-fan meant "gaining fame over seas" while Jann's means "strong", implying Jann Lee's robust physical body and will power, as well as his tendancy to be rude and abrupt (as shown when he beat Leifang on the Freedom Survivor, and when he saved Hitomi from a T-Rex at DOATEC's Jurassic Park).

Leifang
Leifang was once saved by Jann Lee from a gang of thugs years before the first tournament. Not wanting anyone to assume that she can't handle things on her own, Leifang entered the tournaments to defeat Jann Lee. However, it is unclear whether Leifang harbors anything more beyond her one-sided rivalry, as sometimes it is implied that she might have a secret longing for him. In Dead or Alive 2, Leifang perfected her Kung-fu in order to defeat him and become "a part of his world". Regardless of how much Jann Lee beats her in the combat arena, Leifang still persistently tries to keep up with him.

Ryu Hayabusa
Jann Lee first encountered Ryu in the second Dead or Alive tournament, and had a friendly spar with him in the fourth tournament. Having formed something of a friendly rivalry, they do respect each other as masters of their chosen arts. It could be the fact that Jann Lee wants to face strong opponents like Ryu, or that Ryu simply tried to warn Jann Lee, who was a civilian, about the dangers of the DOA tournaments.

Hitomi
Jann Lee first met Hitomi in the third Dead or Alive tournament, and rescued her from being eaten by a dinosaur in the fourth tournament. Another rival of Jann Lee for which he has returned respect. Upon meeting, the two agreed that real power comes from within, showing how easily they get along. However, when he saved Hitomi from being eaten by a T-rex, she didn't fully agree with how he went about doing it. They both met at the finals of the 5th Dead or Alive tournament, in which Jann Lee won.

Rig
Jann Lee holds a grudge towards Rig. Jann Lee was kicking Brad Wong out of the Bar while insulting him at the same time. Rig broke it up and Jann Lee challenged him since he looked like a "real fighter." They got into a fight, which Rig won, embarrassing Jann Lee. After Lee won the 5th Dead or Alive Tournament, he disappeared before being crowned and went to the bar, thinking that he wouldn't be a true champion until he took Rig down.

Gameplay
Jann Lee is one of the fastest striking characters with quick, intricate chain combos as well as sudden, hard hitting jab moves. Because of this, he can be considered a "strike" character in that he relies on quick combos and picks to wear down the enemy, as well as several of his counters, which concentrate on opening the enemy up for counterattack (Trace Gunner).

Jann Lee's preferred distance is long-range, as his attacks have very good reach (Sekkan Chop) and his most powerful attacks have a pause duration at close range, allowing the opponent to easily punish him in his recovery time frame (Dragon Kick, Dragon Spike). However, his true weakness is his lack of a strong mix-up game, meaning most of his attacks can be countered in high to middle, and he lacks sufficient low attacks in his repertoire. He is a very preferred character for all-level players.

Dead or Alive Series

 * Dead or Alive (1996 - 1998)
 * Dead or Alive 2 (1999 - 2000)
 * Dead or Alive 3 (2001 - 2002)
 * Dead or Alive Ultimate (2004 - 2005)
 * Dead or Alive 4 (2005 - 2006)
 * Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)
 * Dead or Alive 5 (2012)

DOA: Dead or Alive
Jann Lee makes a cameo in the movie. He was defeated by Christie.

Musical Themes

 * Lone Warrior - Dead or Alive (Ultimate 1)
 * Heated Heartbeat - Dead or Alive (1998)
 * Natural High - Dead or Alive 2 (Ultimate 2) and Dead or Alive: Dimensions
 * Achoism - Dead or Alive 2 (Ultimate 2) Ending Theme
 * Trip - Dead or Alive 3
 * Son of the Dragon - Dead or Alive 3 Ending Theme
 * Fang - Dead or Alive 4
 * The Fist - Dead or Alive 4 Ending Theme

Trivia

 * His name is a reference to Bruce Lee's real name: "Lee Jun Fan."
 * As shown in his Dead or Alive 4 ending, Jann Lee can play the trumpet.
 * Jann Lee shares the same birthday (November 27th) as Bruce Lee.
 * One of Jann Lee's costumes in Dead or Alive 4 is the same tracksuit worn by Bruce Lee in . This costume is worn by Jeet Kune Do-practitioner characters in other games, such as Marshall Law from Tekken and Fei-Long from Street Fighter.
 * Jann Lee is one of only two non-ninja characters who has won a Dead or Alive tournament, the other being Helena Douglas.
 * Fans were talking about whether Jann Lee would be in the main storyline if Dead or Alive 6 comes out since he was the winner of the 5th Dead or Alive Tournament. All the winners (including Zack, even though he was given the title by Helena) were all involved in the story. His grudge toward Rig also caused some conversation since Rig is Victor Donovan's son.
 * Ironically, Jann Lee begins obsessing over beating Rig in Dead or Alive 5, just as Leifang was obsessed over beating him.