Rani (The Lion Guard)

Rani is a lioness, the leader of the Night Pride and the love interest-turned-mate of Kion that was introduced in Season 3 of The Lion Guard.

Personality
Rani is a strong-willed and kind-hearted lioness who takes her duty as leader seriously, prioritizing the safety of the animals in the Tree of Life. However, she can be quite short-tempered and moody, assuming things before thinking it through and sometimes let her emotions got the better of her, a lesson which she later learned.

Beneath her strong attitude, Rani actually hides her insecurity at the prospect of becoming the next queen, feeling that she's not ready or good enough yet to rule. With Kion and Makini's help, Rani eventually able to overcome her inner doubts and embraces her role as queen. After becoming the queen, Rani grows calmer and wiser in taking action and decisions, earning her deeper respect from her subjects.

Physical appearance
Rani is a slender young lioness who has chestnut fur with a dark brown stripe running down her back. The top of her ears are lined with a similar brown, and her pink inner ears have dark brown fur underneath. She has a red nose and her eyes are chocolate brown, and just above them is tawny, with the lower half becoming lighter.

This brown-cream color is also present on her muzzle, her underbelly, and her paws. The back of her legs contains dark markings, similar to Kion's. The tip of her tail is dark brown. She also has a scar on her lower right foreleg.

Role in the series
Rani and her family mistakes the Lion Guard, who came to cure Kion's scar and Ono's eyesight, as hostile animals, leading to confrontation between the two and Rani forbids them from ever entering the Tree of Life (while disregarding it was her brother who started the conflict). She consults with her grandmother and queen of Tree of Life, Janna, about the Lion Guard. Hearing about the Roar, Janna insists that the Lion Guard is welcomed to the Tree of Life. Rani then confides to the spirit of her parents about her doubt in letting the Lion Guard to enter the Tree of Life. When the Lion Guard comes and Kion apologizes and pleads for them to cure Ono's eyesight if they refuse to heal him, Rani is touched by Kion's concern for his friend and welcomes the Lion Guard to the Tree of Life.

While Kion and Ono are recovering, the Tree of Life is ambushed by Makucha, Chuluun, and Ora. Rani and her pride easily chase them away because the three intruders unable to work together properly. Upon hearing that Makucha and the others have followed the Lion Guard, Rani blames them for leading the villains to the Tree of Life. Kion tries to make it up by helping the Night Pride dealing with Makucha's group, but Rani insists that her pride can deal with them alone.

Makucha, Chuluun, and Ora try to get to the Tree of Life again through another path. She and her pride are surrounded when Ora manages to bite her brother, Baliyo, with his poison, leaving him paralyzed and defenseless, but Kion joins the fight. While Ora runs away after Kion joins, Makucha and Chuluun goes through the hill, but are intercepted by Kion and Rani respectively. From this fight, Rani starts to see Kion and his friends in a new light.

Rani and her pride received a report that Makucha and his group is attacking an animal again. Rani arrives with her pride to save the supposedly injured Mama Binturong, who is actually working together with Makucha and the others. Rani welcomes Mama Binturong into the Tree of Life while inadvertently giving her information that Mama Binturong takes advantage of together with Makucha, Chuluun, and Ora. Fortunately, Ono able to figure out their plan, allowing the Night Pride and the Lion Guard to stop the attack.

Not long after Ono is healed, Rani, her pride, and Kion are called by the dying Janna who entrusts the role as queen of Tree of Life to Rani. As Janna passes away, Rani and the animals present mourn for her. Rani confides to Kion that she worries she can't become a good queen. Kion tells her his own experience when he was first appointed to become the leader and assures her she'll able to pull it through like he did. When Kion reveals that he has no courage to speak with Mufasa until his scar healed, Rani encourages him to talk with Mufasa as he may help him feel better. To lift up Rani's spirit, Makini shows her paintings of the Tree of Life's past so that Rani can have and see the wisdom that Janna left behind at any time. In the afternoon, Rani is officially crowned as the new queen of Tree of Life, gaining her confidence in ruling her home.

While Rani is getting used to her role as queen, she notices Kion has lost confidence in leading the guard without the roar and suggests the rest of the Guard to assure him otherwise. When Kion decides to train his Roar on his own, Rani realizes that the Roar is returning to the Tree of Life and leaves with Bunga to speak with Kion. At the training site, she and Bunga are astonished to see the result of Kion's training. Hearing that the rest of the Lion Guard are fighting against another attack from Makucha and his group, this time bringing a back-up with them, Rani quickly returns with Kion and Bunga. She watches as Kion blows them far away from the Tree of Life for good with his new Roar. Rani then asks Kion and his friends to stay in the Tree of Life.

While Kion is considering Rani's offer, Rani approaches him to ask if he has come up with his answer. The two lions then spend the day together walking through the Tree of Life and express their love for each other. Rani once again asks him to stay and this time also ask him to become her king, surprising Kion. Before Kion could answer, Bunga and the others arrives. The Lion Guard contemplates Rani's offer, but are interrupted by Azaad, Jasiri, and Janja's arrival who tells them that Zira has returned and is planning to attack the Pride Lands with her pride.

Understanding that the Lion Guard still has the responsibility to defend the Pride Lands as long as they bear the mark of the Lion Guard, Rani bids them farewell and tells them that she has considered each one of them as part of her pride. She bestows them the mark of the Tree of Life and tells them that they'll always be welcomed in Tree of Life. She and Makini watches them leave, with Rani awaiting for their next visit.

After Kion decides to pass on the role of the Lion Guard to Vitani and her lionesses, Kion returns to the Tree of Life along with his family and friends where Kion accepts Rani's proposal and the two of them are officially married with Rani expresses her confidence that they'll make a good king and queen.

Trivia

 * "Rani" means "queen" in Hindi.

Screenshots
pt-br:Rani (A Guarda do Leão)