Janja

Janja is the main antagonist of the 2015 TV film, The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar, and the main antagonist in its 2016 follow-up series, The Lion Guard.

He is a teenage hyena who lives in the Outlands and the current leader the hyena clan that was allied with Scar (He and his clanmates are decendents of Shenzi, Banzi, Ed and the other hyenas who worked for Scar during the latter's rule as King). Janja is also the arch-nemesis of Kion (the second-born child of Simba and Nala) and the Lion Guard.

Personality
Janja is an arrogant, selfish and greedy hyena who eats more than his fair share, and who has no regard for the Circle of Life. His unabated hunger has made him ruthless and willing to go to extreme measures to satisfy it. His is also shown to be undeniably intelligent. He correctly fears the Roar of the Elders due to knowing how Scar used it to destroy the old Lion Guard. He also understands that there is no such thing as a free meal, and hunts for his food (like all hyenas do). He is also shown to have a dislike for the jackals. He can also sometimes be quite cowardly.

Physical Appearance
Janja is an ashen gray hyena with a lighter underbelly, black spiky mane, darker spots, and a black tail with a gray underbelly.

Abilities

 * High-Level Intellect/Expert Tactician/Leader: Janja is revealed to have leadership prowess that rivals Kion's. Compare to his closest friends; Janja is close to be the most intelligent of the hyena clan as he knew the story of the Lion Guard as he was able to come up with many plans how to take over the Pride Lands; such as attacking at night before the Lion Guard was official, getting Kiara as a prisoner to make deal with Simba, using herd of animals to make Lion Guard unable to see, and trapping the Lion Guard by using boulders to block the path when Ono was not able to see. Also knowing that vultures have come information when having meetings that he can use against the Lion Guard; proven by Ono unable to see. The reason he is close to be the smartest of his clan is that Nne and Tano have proven to be smarter.
 * Expert Combatant: As the leader of his hyena clan, Janja is a capable fighter. He is able to hold his own against enemies that are half his size; such as Kion, Kiara, and Jasiri.
 * Animal Strength: Janja is also strong as Kion, as he was able to hold down his enemies that are half his size; such as Kion, Kiara, and Jasiri and raised Cheezi and Chungu and launch long distance
 * Animal Stamina: Janja's stamina is high, as he is able to hunt with his pack to take out many prey as he could.
 * Animal Endurance: Janja is able to endure attacks from Beshte's brute strength and Kion's roar.

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
Janja orders his clan members Cheezi and Chungu to capture a honey badger called Bunga (who had entered the Outlands to get his Baobab fruit back) so he can have him for lunch. However, Kion is able to save his friend by unknowingly using The Roar of the Elders which causes Chungu to drop Bunga who then gets to safety.

Later, Janja is informed by his vulture major-domo Mzingo that Kion is forming a Lion Guard to protect The Circle of Life. Seeing that this Lion Guard could be a threat to him and his clan, Janja declares that the clan will strike the Pride Lands that night and sings "Tonight We Strike".

Janja and his clan attack the Pride Lands and cause a gazelle stampede, which Kion's older sister Kiara gets caught in. Luckily, Kion and his Lion Guard (Bunga, Beshte, Fuli and Ono) come to Kiara's rescue by chasing the hyenas away and getting the gazelles to go in another direction before Kion confronts Janja and uses the Roar of the Elders to send him and his clan back to the Outlands, but Janja swears vengeance on Kion and the Lion Guard.

The Lion Guard
Set after the film, Janja and his clan continue terrorising The Pride Lands, but only to be stopped by Kion and The Lion Guard.

Besides The Lion Guard, Janja is also on bad terms with a female hyena named Jasiri, who lives in another part of the Outlands, and unlike Janja's clan, respects The Circle of Life. According to their encounter in "Never Judge a Hyena by its Spots", Janja and Jasiri met on a previous occasion as Janja says that he told Jasiri to stay off his turf.

In the episode "Can't Wait to be Queen", Janja tricks Kiara (who at the time, was serving as temporary Queen of The Pride Lands) into coming to the Outlands, claiming that he wants a peace treaty where in fact, he planned to hold Kiara hostage until Simba handed The Pride Lands over to him. Luckily, Kion and The Lion Guard come to Kiara's aid.

Janja serves as the series's main antagonist, but in some episodes, another villainous animal takes that position, with Janja making a minor appearance or not appearing in the episode at all.

The first was "The Rise of Makuu" where Makuu, the new leader of the crocodiles served as the episode's antagonist, with Janja being absent.

The second was "The Kupatana Celebration", where a jackal named Reirei served as the antagonist, and Janja made a short appearance. Kion things he's the instigator of chasing a Jackal Cub and confronts him, not knowing of the Jackal's nature. However, when Janja learns that it's the Kupatana Celebration, he willingly lets the Lion Guard take the Jackal there, knowing of the chaos it plans to cause.

In the episode "Janja's New Crew" Janja replaced Cheezi and Chungu for their incompetence by two other hyenas named Tano and Nne, but they later turn against Janja. After the Lion Guard send Tano and Nne out of the Pride Lands, Janja accepted Cheezi and Chungu again and they returned to the Outlands.

Trivia

 * Janja is shown to be the leader of his clan, but in real life, hyenas are led by females (like Shenzi was in The Lion King).
 * It has been revealed that Janja and his clan are descendants of Shenzi, Banzai and Ed's clan, but it is not revealed what exactly happened to them after they killed Scar.
 * It could be 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.