Janja

**Janja** is a teenage male hyena and was the leader of a small clan of hyenas that live in the Outlands.

He is the main antagonist of *The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar* and a major antagonist of *The Lion Guard*, serving as one of the main antagonists of Season 1 and, alongside Ushari and Kiburi, one of the three secondary antagonists of Season 2 (behind Scar) before reforming in Season 3 when he joined Jasiri's Clan. Janja was the sworn enemy of the Pride Lands and Kion, leader of the Lion Guard before redeeming himself and became an ally.

## Personality

Initially, Janja was a cruel, greedy, arrogant and villainous hyena who had no interest in protecting the Circle of Life. He was shown to care only for himself, always ordering others around to do his work for him. He thought only about getting food for himself and couldn't care less if the rest of his clan starved, though he did allow them to eat. Janja did frequently refer to the other members of his clan as "fur-brains", showing that he did not respect them. He insulted and mocked them frequently, but did not like being laughed at himself. He was ruthless and determined to eat as much food as he could.

Janja's intelligence is undeniable. He is a devious and manipulative planner who is always hatching new plots to defeat the Lion Guard or take over the Pride Lands. He is notably the only hyena in his clan who uses cunning to obtain what he wants. True to his name, Janja is very crafty and sly, though he sometimes has difficulty grasping simple concepts. However, his plots have yet to entirely succeed, due to the interference of the Guard and overlooked details. Janja also has a sense of humor and a fondness of witticism; he will occasionally make jokes and clever remarks.

Despite his ferocity and sharp intellect, Janja is somewhat of a coward, usually only choosing to fight when the odds are in his favor (when his clan has an advantage in numbers). He is also something of a sore loser in the face of defeat. Protective of his territory, he does not tolerate intruders and will attack those who invade his land. As shown in many episodes, Janja harbors a deep hatred for the Lion Guard, especially Kion and his Roar. He also has a strong dislike and disdain for jackals, believing them to be "annoying" and regarding their intelligence as inferior to that of his own species.

Since the beginning of the series, Janja has been shown to have deep admiration and respect for Scar. When a snake named Ushari informs him that it is possible to contact Scar, he immediately agrees to work together with Ushari to figure out how to do it, which they ultimately succeed in doing. Ever since Scar's return, Janja is shown to be respectful, but also highly fearful of Scar. He also appears somewhat threatened by Scar's new leadership over him and his clan, and asserts to his minions that they still have to listen to him, but still acknowledges Scar as their true boss for fear of stirring his wrath.

However, Janja proved to have at least some good in him in "The Hyena Resistance" when Jasiri saved his life. Rather then scorn her, he expressed great shock and confusion at why she helped him. Although Janja refuses her offer for him to join the Hyena Resistance, he hesitates for a moment leaving Jasiri feeling confident he will come around in time. This moment alone causes the skinks (who had been secretly watching) to question Janja's loyalty.

In "Battle for the Pride Lands", it is revealed that Janja and his clan are growing unhappy with constantly having to fight the Lion Guard to be able to eat what they want only to always lose and wind up hungry. Janja is also shown to be envious of how happy Jasiri and her clan are working with the Lion Guard. This causes Janja to begin to think that he should take Jasiri up on her previous offer to join her and that he is on the wrong side. After Janja attempts carry out another of Scar's plans to destroy the Lion Guard only to find that Scar was also planning to get rid of him and his clan for possibly betraying him, Janja realized that Scar never cared for him and finally switches sides. After Scar is defeated, Janja happily volunteers Jasiri as the new leader of the Outlands. He also displays a newfound respect for the Circle of Life and vows to stop any animal in the Outlands that tries to threaten it. He also looks to care about his clan and their safety.

Janja is shown to become kinder since his reformation, being one of the first animals along with Jasiri and Anga to show concern over Kion and Ono's injuries after defeating Scar. He has also become honest as he says Jasiri is the one that's worthy of leading the Outlands and not him. Although he is still somewhat cowardly, he will do what he can to help his new friends and has proven himself as trustworthy as Jasiri.

## Trivia

* Janja become Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's enemy in *Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's Adventures of the Lion Guard: Return of the Roar.*
* Janja appeared in Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's Adventures to get revenge on The Lion Guard, Thomas, Twilight and their friends for ruining his plans to eat animals in the Pride Lands. He later reforms in *Thomas and Twilight Sparkle's Adventures of The Lion Guard: Battle for The Pride Lands.*
* Janja and Cheezi are the only members of their clan that resemble the main hyenas in the Lion King. Janja looks like Banzai and Cheezi looks like Ed.
* In The Scorpion's Sting, we learn that Janja has a fear of scorpions.
* Janja and his clan are descendants of Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, as stated in a promotional Disney Junior video.
* With the apparent age of Janja and the short time between the Lion King and the Lion Guard, it is highly likely that Janja was born during the reign of Scar.
* Although they know each other, Simba is the only Pridelander lion with whom Janja has not yet interacted until *Battle for The Pride Lands.*
* Although not yet fully developed, Janja is almost as big as Nala.

## Gallery

Janja when he was badJanja as an infant cubHungry HyenasPlottingWounded JanjaTrying to get a meal.Janja vs JasiriPinning down the queenJanja with his sidekicks, Cheezi and ChunguJanja with NneJanja with TanoJanja with Mzingo. Receiving the news.Janja with ReireiJanja with GoigoiJanja with KiburiJanja with UshariJanja with ScarJanja with Goigoi and TamkaJanja with KengeJanja with Reirei, Kiburi, Mzingo and UshariJanja, Reirei and Kiburi look at each other, liking Scar's planJanja battles JasiriJanja with KionJanja with BungaJanja with BeshteJanja behind FuliJanja with OnoJanja with JasiriJanja with SimbaJanja with NalaJanja and Jasiri with Azaad