Rock Lee was one of the most popular characters in Masashi Kishimoto's iconic shonen anime series, Naruto. Introduced in the Chunin Exams arc, Lee was a member of Team Guy who couldn't perform either ninjutsu or genjutsu, despite being a ninja.
Lee could, however, use high-level taijutsu, something that he had honed with years of training. As such, he was the epitome of hard work and payoff in the series. Sadly, moving forward, Rock Lee received very little focus in the story and remains one of the many characters that Kishimoto wasted in the story. Rock Lee could have done so much more, but he was swept aside.
7 Didn't Fight Any Akatsuki Members
Rock Lee was easily among the strongest members of the Konoha 11. During the Chunin Exams arc, he even defeated Sasuke. He has the skill to keep up with Neji and possibly even defeat him. Although he wasn't as strong as Naruto Uzumaki or Sasuke Uchiha, he was close to their level and would have been an incredible asset to use in the fight against the Akatsuki.
Surprisingly, Lee didn't get the chance to show off his growth after the timeskip, as he never fought any members of the group. For the majority of the story, Lee remained in the background. This was quite a wasteful decision on Kishimoto's part, as he could have contributed a lot.
6 Didn't Show Proper Usage Of The 6th Gate
In the first part of Naruto, Rock Lee was revealed to be a master of five of the eight Inner Gates. Even Kakashi, a genius in his own right, considered this level of mastery to be extraordinary. With the power of the gates, Lee was able to give even the likes of Gaara quite a beating.
Strangely enough, though, Lee didn't progress much as a ninja after that. In Naruto Shippuden, it was revealed in the Fourth Great Ninja War that Lee had learned how to use the Sixth Gate of Joy. Surprisingly, fans never got to see what he was capable of when using this power.
5 He Wasn't Involved In The Pain's Assault Arc
Perhaps one of the biggest threats that Konohagakure faced in its decades of existence was that of Pain. On his quest to hunt the Nine-Tails, Pain arrived at Konohagakure and completely destroyed the village. Surprisingly, Rock Lee was nowhere to be seen as he, along with his team, were on a mission around this time.
Given that one of Pain's Paths had the power to absorb ninjutsu, it would've been great for Rock Lee to take part in the fight. Sadly, Kishimoto went a different route with him, and never gave fans a proper fight with Rock Lee as the focus in Naruto's second half.
4 Didn't Get Attention In The Fourth Great Ninja War
The Fourth Great Ninja War was the biggest event in the entirety of the Naruto series. Triggered by the alliance of Obito Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi, the war was fought to take control of the Tailed Beasts. Consequently, all the shinobi nations banded together to fight the biggest threat in history.
It goes without saying that the Fourth Great Ninja War was a great place for Kishimoto to give Rock Lee a space to shine. With his amazing powers, Lee could very well have made a massive difference in the war, but his chance never arrived. Lee got an minuscule role in the war, and was eventually overshadowed by other characters.
3 His Rivalry With Neji Faded
Guy's team was easily one of the most interesting ones in the story. With characters such as Neji, Lee, and Tenten, the team had intriguing dynamics with each other. Rock Lee's relationship with Neji was particularly special, because the two paralleled each other quite well.
Whereas Neji was a genius, Lee was a failure. While Neji was blessed with incredible ninjutsu, Lee couldn't even use ninjutsu. Yet despite their differences, both were striving to reach for the stars. Seeing the massive difference between himself and Neji, Lee swore to fight him one day and surpass him. For him, fighting Neji was a massive source of motivation, yet he never got to accomplish this goal. Eventually, it simply faded out of existence.
2 Audiences Didn't See His Progress As A Ninja
The story never gave much focus to Rock Lee's progress as a shinobi. While fans did get to see him fight in the Chunin Exams, everything went downhill for him following the conclusion of the first part of the story. Rock Lee eventually went on to become a Jonin of Konohagakure, but, sadly, fans never got to see the journey he took to achieve this rank either.
Currently, Lee is one of the strongest ninjas in Boruto. However, it is unknown how he got that strong. Interestingly enough, this problem isn't unique to Rock Lee. Quite a few characters suffered from the same problem in Naruto, and this remains one of the biggest criticisms of the series.
1 He Didn't Play Any Major Role In The Story
Overall, Lee didn't play that big of a role in the story — and he should have. While his character was introduced with a lot of potential, Lee simply didn't live up to the expectations, as Kishimoto chose to focus on other characters. His contribution in the latter half of the story is minimal, and it is quite clear to see that the character was wasted in more ways than one. It's sad, especially because he was a fan favorite and carried loads of potential.
Even in Boruto, Rock Lee continues to be a ninja who has barely played any role in the story, and, given how Kishimoto wrote Naruto, that isn't going to change anytime soon.