In an interview in "Weekly Shōnen Jump"s "Naruto Anime Profiles Episodes 1-37", Masashi Kishimoto said that he enjoys drawing Lee more than any other character in the series. When designing Lee's appearance, Kishimoto planned to make Lee having different kinds of weapons, including nunchaku. Due to lack of time while creating the series, he was unable to do so. Kishimoto's first editor, Kosuke Yahagi, originally drew the author a draft of Lee's appearance. When Kishimoto designed it the design changed a lot from the original one. Yahagi felt pleased because some parts were kept. Kishimoto has noted that he originally designed Lee as a symbol of human weakness. His design of Sakura Haruno was also intended to carry the same Symbolism. Kishimoto was surprised by Lee's popularity within fans. He wanted to write more about him but the timing was never right. Lee became very popular within course of the series. Due to this Kishimoto tries to place him toward the front of promotional artwork in which he appears.