| Jinga | |
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 Jinga, Never Judge a Hyena by its Spots | |
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- "Got anythin' to eat?"
- ―Jinga
Jinga is a hyena featured in The Lion Guard. His appearance was designed by the character designers of The Lion Guard. His personality and backstory thought up by Mwandishi.
Appearance[]
Like all of the hyenas in Janja's Clan, Jinga has fur so matted with ash as to appear gray. However, if his coat were scrubbed clean, it was by a dingy brown color, paler at the belly, with dark brown spots, eye shades, and paws. His spots are present only on his shoulder; there three of them, one larger than the other two, which are roughly the same size. His large, round eyes are coal black, as are his small paws, wide, rounded ears, eyebrows, and broad, shiny nose. His inner ears are dull gray-pink, with a tuft of gray fur at the bottom. Built sturdily, he is broad-chested, though not quite as much as Chungu, and tall. However, despite his wide frame, he is thin and weaker than he looks. His teeth are white and triangular, and one bottom tooth protrudes over his lip. His head is oval-shaped, with a lot of excess fur on his cheeks. His tail is scruffy and tapers towards the base, and his long muzzle curves upward more than those of his clanmates'. His mane runs from his shoulders to his head, where four separate locks, three of them larger than the second frontmost, extend above his head. One of them, the farthest from his forehead, is recurved, whilst the others flop forward.
Personality[]
Jinga is foolish and ignorant, allowing himself to be controlled and commanded by Janja. Had he been raised by kinder animals, in a better place, it is certain that he was have been a kind and gentle, if somewhat gluttonous, fellow. However, growing up in the Outlands turned him greedy and rude. He is completely ignorant about the Circle of Life, and believes that it is nothing by a rule devised by the Pridelanders to starve the hyenas. He is very pushy and demanding, and will take any opportunity to steal food from every member of the clan except for Janja. However, a slow and clumsy thief he is, and his attempted robberies are more often than not unsuccessful. He is very jealous of Cheezi and Chungu for being Janja's two closest lackeys. He has tried to bully them into leaving the clan, but to no avail. He is especially unkind to Cheezi, since he figures that though Chungu has his brute force to offer, Cheezi is nothing special.
History[]
Early Life[]
Jinga was born a two years before the passing of Janja's predecessor, a female hyena who was also the mother of he and his brother Jivu. Though Jinga, like the rest of his clan, fretted that there were no females within the clan to take over, he avidly supported Janja from the moment Janja stepped up to lead. This caused him to be very bitter when Janja selected Cheezi and Chungu as his main minions. He sulked for days and growled at everyone, but never at Janja, whom he continued to follow around and try to impress. Although he eventually stopped moping, he never stopped envying Cheezi and Chungu.
Return of the Roar[]
Jinga first appears watching Janja gnaw on a bone. When Janja discards the bone, it slides past Jinga while he watches.
Shortly after, Jinga tried to steal the remains of a rib cage from Jivu. Jivu caught him in the act, and Jinga narrowly avoided having his nose bitten. Instead, Jivu's teeth clipped the edge of his ear, leaving a small tear.
When Kion uses his powerful roar to force back Janja's clan, Jinga and another hyena were lucky to be standing off to the side, just enough so that they did not bounce down a rocky slope like the rest of the clan did. Jinga flees with the rest of the clan, running between Cheezi and Chungu.
The Lion Guard[]
Jinga has appeared in multiple episodes of The Lion Guard. He is always shown with the rest of the clan.
Quotes[]
"But she canta died! We don't 'ave any other girls in 'round here!"
"You gonna give me that, or not? 'Cause I'll bet my tail I'm 'ungrier than you are right now."
"What's so special about you, 'uh? Nothin'. You don't deserve to go into the Pride Lands with Janja, I do!"
"So, Janja, see, I've been thinking a bit. You're takin' Cheezi and Chungu with you, 'uh? Maybe it'd be, you know, better if you took someone else, too, don't you think?"
"Right, Janja, 'course."
Trivia[]
- During the song Tonight We Strike, Jinga appeared with two small tears in one ear.