Janja

"The Pride Lands will never know what bit 'em."

- Janja, The Lion Guard

Janja is the leader of a clan of hyenas and serves as a major antagonist to The Lion Guard.

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, paws, and muzzle are dark gray. He also has dark gray spots 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.

Personality
Janja is a spotted hyena who does not agree with the Circle of Life. He is showed to be secretly a good guy and he cars s for his clan. He always has a plan to take down the Lion Guard so he can get a meal. He is showed to be very intelligent, far more then Kion. Janja is really calm,caring,brave hyena. He only eats what he needs and tries to get Chezzi and Chungu to stop being so gluttonous. Janja is very confident that he will find his way into the Pridelands and show the Lion Guard how good he can be.

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
Janja and his clan are starving in the Outlands. Cheezi notices a Baobab fruit nearby and wants to eat it, but Janja is disgusted at the idea, and instead starts to chomp at a passing butterfly. He fails to catch it, and the other hyenas start to laugh as it lands on his ear. Janja snaps at them for this, though soon notices Bunga looking for his ball. Flicking the bone away, he orders Chungu and Cheezi to bring the honey badger over to him for his lunch. Later, Mzingo hears of the new Lion Guard being formed and immediately alerts Janja, who shows great concern over this news as he remembers what the original Lion Guard stood for. He then comes up with a plan (after a brief interruption as he attempts to eat a nearby caterpillar) - to get rid of as many animals as they can to stop the new Lion Guard from being created. He leads his clan in the singing of the song Tonight We Strike to explain his plan to them.

At sunset, Janja and the rest of his clan then start an attack on the gazelles in their grazing spot, to which Kion is alerted to. Janja then fights the Lion Guard and sustains an injury, though eventually he comes face to face with Kion himself. After taunting the lion cub, Kion lets loose the Roar of the Elders, and he and the other hyenas scatter back to the Outlands.

Never Judge a Hyena by Its Spots
Janja, along with Cheezi and Chungu are seen attacking a herd of oryx, but shortly thereafter The Lion Guard arrive on the scene. Kion orders the rest of the Lion Guard to calm the herd while he goes after Janja's clan. However during the pursuit, a log snaps under Kion's feet and he falls into a river, which sweeps him into the Outlands. Later on, Janja and his clan confront a female hyena named Jasiri, who helped Kion escape the Outlands. She is able to easily fight off Cheezi and Chungu, but is pinned down by Janja. Luckily, Kion returns and saves Jasiri by using the Roar of the Elders, which causes Janja to retreat, and both he and the rest of his clan scamper farther into the Outlands.

Can't Wait to be Queen
Mzingo arrives in the Outlands to inform Janja that Simba and Nala have left the Pride Lands and left their daughter, Kiara in charge during their absence. Janja soon realizes that he can use this to his advantage, and sends Mzingo to Pride Rock in order to offer a peace proposal on his behalf.

Mzingo does so, and although Kiara questions why Janja himself does not deliver the message personally, the vulture cooks up an excuse on his part, asking her to meet them at Broken Rock. After a fall out with her brother over Mzingo's proposal, Kiara makes her way to the Outlands, hoping to finally make peace with Janja. However, she soon realizes that something is wrong, and that she's made a mistake. As Janja, Cheezi and Chungu approach the queen, Janja announces his plan. With Kiara in his grasp, Simba will have no choice but to hand the Pride Lands over to them. The hyenas circle around Kiara, and a couple of them leap at her. Kiara's agility secures her victory, though this is short lived as Janja pins her down. Before he can do anything, Kion arrives, much to Kiara's surprise. This doesn't phase Janja, as his clan is up 6-2. Suddenly, the rest of the Lion Guard join Kion and Kiara, evening the odds. Janja makes a quick retreat, and his clan flees back into the depths of the Outlands. Kiara apologizes to her brother for not listening to him about trusting Janja. Janja overhears this and replies that he can hear them, just before he makes his leave.

Eye of the Beholder
Janja and his clan cause a wildebeest stampede at the beginning of the episode, causing dust to cloud the air as the Lion Guard tries to restore order and stop the hyenas. Janja sneaks up on Kion and prepares to take him down, but is quickly foiled by Ono, who alerts Kion of the hyena's presence. Janja and his clan are chased back into the Outlands.

Janja learns of Ono's injured eye by word of Mwoga, one of Mzingo's affiliates. He plans to trap the Lion Guard in a rock slide and tells of his brilliant plan through the song Outta the Way. Much to his dismay, Cheezi and Chungu still don't understand the plan, but they decide to go along with it anyway. The hyenas form two rock piles to unleash on The Lion Guard, and after trapping them, are sure of their victory. However, Ono alerts the nearby zebra herd that Janja plans to attack to move away from the valley in which they are grazing. With the area clear, Kion is able to use the Roar of the Elders without hurting the herd, blasting the rocks out of the way and freeing the Guard. Janja is stunned to see that the Guard has escaped, and orders Cheezi and Chungu to flee.

The Kupatana Celebration
Janja and his clan are seen chasing the young jackal pup, Dogo, who had trespassed into their den. Janja chases Dogo and prepares to pounce on him when he is stopped by Kion. Janja learns that the Pridelanders are celebrating Kupatana, so he lets Kion leave with Dogo, laughing and saying that "If you want the jackal, he's all yours." Janja and the hyenas then run further into the Outlands.

Fuli's New Family
Janja is in the Outlands with the rest of his clan. He is being groomed by Chungu when Cheezi enters, bearing news of a new meal in the Outlands. Janja and the rest of the hyenas head out at once to capture Bunga, who has wandered into the Outlands. After surrounding the honey badger, the hyenas prepare to strike at him but are promptly stopped by Fuli. Fuli and Bunga begin floating downstream in the lava atop a piece of broken rock. The hyenas pursue them but are eventually stopped by the Lion Guard, who appear to save Fuli and Bunga. Janja, Cheezi and Chungu find themselves trapped atop a burning log with no food at all.

Follow That Hippo!
Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu sneak into the Pride Lands. As Ono swoops over the Pride Lands, searching for them, they hide in a bush until he is gone. Janja steps out, noting that he doesn't think Ono saw them. When Chungu loudly complains to Cheezi, Janja warns him that Ono may be able to hear them. He corrects Cheezi's assumption that they call Ono the "Ears in the Sky" before sneaking away, Cheezi and Chungu following.

Later, as Shauku, Mtoto, Kwato, Kambuni, and Gumba chase hyraxes, Janja overhears one of the five shouting his name. He points out the young animals to Cheezi and Chungu, and the two make comments about eating them, laughing after they speak. Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu follow the kids as they play. When they call the hyenas' names, Chungu wonders if they are actually chasing them. Janja contradicts him, telling him that they're playing pretend, but that it is "about to get real".

The hyraxes eventually flee to safety, and Mtoto wonders what they should chase now. Janja answers him, suggesting they the hyenas chase them. The five friends flee in terror, and Janja chases after Mtoto. Mtoto manages to evade him by turning sharply as he nears a boulder, causing Janja to crash into it. Cheezi and Chungu approach him, they too having failed to catch one of the animals. Janja decides to pursue Mtoto, seeing as he is the slowest. He, Cheezi, and Chungu corner Mtoto next to a wide river. Beshte suddenly jumps out of the water, scaring the hyena trio away. He swims down the river with Mtoto now on his back, and Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu follow. Cheezi and Janja wait for Mtoto to pass beneath them, but Mtoto ducks, and they end up knocking into each other. Janja continues to try and chase Beshte and Mtoto, but the rest of the Lion Guard arrives. Bunga knocks Janja into the water, and the crocodiles begin to chase him.

The Call of the Drongo
Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu attack a herd of impalas. Janja calls out that they only want to invite them to dinner and adds that they'll be the main course, to the amusement of his companions. However, the Lion Guard arrives to stop them. Beshte stands in front of them, causing them to crash into his rear end. Chungu begins to tell the Guard about Janja's joke, but Janja silences him. Kion orders the hyenas to leave, and they run away, but soon pause to catch their breath. They hear Janja's voice telling someone that they look tasty, and that he is going to eat them. Cheezi and Chungu at first think that it was Janja saying that he was going to eat one of them, but Janja corrects them. He explains that he didn't say anything, but that somebody did. He approaches the area from where he heard the sound of his voice and discovers Tamaa the drongo mimicking his voice to scare a striped grass mouse. He orders Cheezi and Chungu to grab Tamaa, and decides that if Tamaa helps him with his new plan, the hyenas may not eat him at all.

Janja later instructs Tamaa to say what he told him to say, but to sound as though he were Kion. Tamaa at first protests, but when Janja threatens him, he obliges, and orders the impalas into the Outlands through Kion's voice. The impalas eventually flee, and the trio of hyenas give chase. When they reach the Outlands, Janja pauses to laugh and declare that their dinner is being delivered, and Tamaa takes his chance to ask if he can go now. Janja denies his request, pointing out that Tamaa still could be useful to him. He, Cheezi, and Chungu resume pursuit of the impala herd, who soon reach a dead end. Janja marvels at how easy his plan worked and announces that they're never going to let Tamaa go before beginning to stalk the impalas.



However, he soon hears the voices of the Lion  Guard, telling them that they're surrounded, and that they should leave and let the impalas go. Janja is at first terrified, but when Cheezi speaks, he realizes that Cheezi is no longer holding Tamaa. He finds the drongo and says that he knows the Guard isn't there, but Kion arrives and pounces on him, pinning him to the ground. Janja tries to make an excuse for his actions before fleeing with Cheezi and Chungu further into the Outlands.

Trivia

 * Hyena clans are normally led by a female.
 * It is possible that Janja is based on Banagi, a hyena who was set to be an antagonist in the early drafts of The Lion King. Like Janja, Banagi was a hyena who was leader of his clan despite being male.
 * Janja means "artful" or "crafty" in Swahili.
 * Janja and his clan are descendants of the clan Shenzi, Banzai and Ed were part of in The Lion King.