Count Magnus Lee

Count Magnus Lee is a fictional character in the novel and anime Vampire Hunter D. He is a powerful 3,757-year-old vampire "Noble." In the anime, he is 10,000-years-old, and in some translations of the Japanese language original movie print, he is 1,000,000-years-old.

Role in original novel

In the novel, Count Lee is out hunting one night when suddenly he encounters Doris Lang. Deeply attracted to her, he decides to claim her as his bride, and bites her with the intent to change her into a vampire. Doris, who is no match for the Count's powers, must hire a vampire hunter, a warrior specially trained to kill vampires and combat their supernatural combat abilities. If Lee dies before she receives another bite, she will not change.

Lee first encounters "D" the dhampir hunter Doris has hired, when D attempts to siege his castle and kill him, D almost stabs Lee's heart, but although D's sword does pierce Lee's chest, Lee manages to catch it and hurl D across the room, but D escapes.

Later after ordering the execution of the Midwich Medusas, Lee becomes aware of Rei-Ginsei and his outlaw gang, and promises that if Rei-Gnsei and his gang manage to kill D, he will turn Rei-Ginsei into a vampire.

Though his gang is killed, Rei-Gisei is eventually successful. But D is revived by the parasite that inhabits his hand, and eventually manages to discover a way to kill Rei-Ginsei.

When D and Lee finally battle, it seems as if D has to have comeplete concentration, and maximum effort to keep up with Lee. Cout Lee's cape is made of a material that cannot be pierced by D's sword, it also has the power to wrap around things and lift or squeeze them, and it's edges are so sharp that Lee swordfights D with it (with Lee mentally controlling the cape). It appears the invicible D has finally failed. However, consistent with vampire heirarchy, older family lines, or "houses", inherently possess superior power to those less tenured. As D is a direct descendent from the most powerful of all vampire families, the House of Dracula (of which Count Lee was unaware until it was too late) Count Lee is doomed to defeat at the hands of D. At the climax of the battle, D awakens the element of his vampire quality, and defeats the Count.

Powers and Abilities

*Telekinesis: In the anime, Lee has the power to move objects with his willpower alone. Bouncing, and throwing enemies, and even blowing up Rei-Ginsei's head. This power is exclusive to the anime, and does not appear in the novel, although it may be the power by which the cape control power operates.

*Cape control: In the novel, Lee has psychic control over his cape. He can make it wrap around things to lift and/or crush them. He can also make its sides turn sharp to use as a sword. It is made of skin from women the Count has taken blood from, and stained with their blood. Due to special secrets passed down through Lee's clan, it is five times as hard as the hardest steel, and twenty times more flexible than a spider's web. However. if Lee loses concentration, the cape will lose its powers, and this turns out to be his undoing. This ability does not appear in the anime.

*Transformation of Non-Vampires into Vampires: Like all Nobles, Lee can transform humans and other creatures into Vampires with repeated bites. Not all victims are turned however, for the victim to transform, Lee must bite them, and while dong do, consciously intend for their transformation.

*Age: Lee is a very old vampire. As the old vampires are far more powerful than younger ones, he is very powerful, even for a vampire. In the novel he is 3,757 years of age, while in the anime, this is changed to 10,000 years of age!

*Regeneration: Lee has shown the ability to regenerate lost tissue in both the novel, and the anime. In the anime his eye is torn open, and he regenerates it, pulling the blood back in, and sliding it back together smoothly, he did this in mere seconds. In the novel, he clearly has such powers because during his first battle with D, he is surprised that a wound D gave him will not close.