May Lee

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May Lee

Game series	King of Fighters series
First game	King of Fighters 2001
In-Universe Information
Birthplace	Korea
Blood type	B
Fighting style	Tae Kwon Do (Personally arranged)
Likes	Video Viewing (Especially Special Effect Hero Film)
Dislikes	Evil

May Lee
Hangul:	이진주
Hanja:	李眞珠
Revised Romanization:	I Jinju
McCune-Reischauer:	I Chinju

May Lee is a video game character in the King of Fighters series. Her real name is Lee Jinju. May is her nickname. She made her first appearance in KOF 2001, and has recently made an appearance in the home console version of King of Fighters Neo Wave despite speculations of copyright issues from the belief that KOF2001 and KOF2002 developer Eolith owned the character.

May Lee is a homage/parody of sentai/tokusatsu-type characters, specifically Kamen Rider. She wears a scarf and "hero belt", both trademark gear of Kamen Rider, and she tends to pose heroically in many of her moves, her SDM May Lee The End, for instance, is a homage to Kamen Rider's trademark Rider Kick

[edit] History

May Lee is one of the many students of Kim Kaphwan, and has idolized him and Jhun Hoon ever since she could remember. She has developed her own unique adaptation of standard Tae Kwon Do, and she has become one of Kim's best students. One day, while training, she heard word of the King of Fighters tournament. As always, Team Korea (composed of Chang Koehan, Choi Bounge, Jhun Hoon, and team captain Kim Kaphwan) was set to enter.

However, disaster struck. Since Jhun had injured his leg due to a street accident, May Lee was required to replace him as a member of Team Korea. Kim suggested she also kept an eye on her teammates, former criminals Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge. (This suits Chang and Choi, as May Lee, unlike Kim, does not feel the need to physically punish them on a regular basis).

Despite her inexperience, May Lee surprised the audience with her unique Tae Kwon Do style in the tournament. Kim and the others are also surprised by her achievements, and she soon gains well earned praise. After the tournament ended, May Lee returned to Korea along with her partners, celebrated as heroes for ending the menace of the evil NESTS cartel, that was at work behind the tournament.

Later, after King's departure, May Lee joined Mai Shiranui and Yuri Sakazaki in the Women's Team after not being needed on the Korea Team.

[edit] Trivia

In Korean, her name Jinju (진주)[眞珠] means "pearl".
May Lee's second appearance in KOF 2002 removed longtime staple King off the roster, temporarily earning May Lee the resentment of King fans. King has since been replaced in most versions of the game.
May Lee appears in both Tower Festival stages in King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2, standing on the railing of one of the towers. In that same game, fellow Kim disciple Chae Lim's normal outfit color G makes her dress exactly like May Lee.
In KOF 2002, May Lee has two different versions of herself, her standard form and her Hero form. Between the two characterizations are slightly different appearances, such as with the gloves. Their movesets are also very different. Additionally, May Lee cannot block or throw in hero mode, but she is equipped with a parry move.