Janja

**Janja** is a 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.

## Janja

### Affiliation

Bad (Formerly)
Good

## Appearance

Janja is a smoky gray spotted hyena with a grayish-beige underbelly. He has large ears that curve to a sharp point, with his left ear bearing a visible notch. His nose, feet, and the upper side of his tail are black. The under side of his tail is a beige color. His muzzle is gray. He also has dark gray spots, one spot forms a gray heart, across his back and a ridge of black fur running along his head and upper neck that juts back in sharp spikes. Janja's eyes are black, with thick eyebrows and a ring of darker gray fur around them.

Janta as adult looks exactly same, only he looks slightly taller.

## Personality

Initially, Janja was a cruel, greedy, arrogant and villainous hyena who had no interest in following the Circle of Life. He was always ordering others around to do his work for him. Janja did frequently refer to the other members of his clan as "fur-brains", which is shown to be both endearing and insulting depending on the circumstance. He 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 and tends to overlook certain 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 empathy in "The Hyena Resistance" when Jasiri saved his life. Rather than 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 and passive-aggressive at times, he will do what he can to help his new friends and has proven himself as trustworthy as Jasiri.