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Characters / Nu, Pogodi!

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Volk (Волк), or The Wolf

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz__origin_nu-pogodi-32_7516.png

  • Born Unlucky: His plans often fail due to pure dumb luck.
  • Bright Is Not Good: He is a Villain Protagonist, despite always wearing something bright pink.
  • Butt-Monkey: His attempts to catch Hare typically end up with him suffering Amusing Injuries or ending up in an embarrassing situation.
  • Camp Straight: He dresses quite fashionably, displays effeminate mannerisms, and has Playwolf posters in his shack.
  • Character Catchphrase: He drops the show's title, "Nu Pogodi!" at least once per episode.
  • Determinator: The whole series is about him chasing Hare. He never succeeds, and he never gives up.
  • A Dog Named "Dog": He is called Volk, which means "wolf" in Russian.
  • Disguised in Drag: One time, he steals and wears Svinya's (Pig's) bikini. In the Christmas Episode, he dresses as Snegurochka.
  • Distressed Dude: He frequently gets himself into situations where Zayats has to rescue him.
  • Dreadful Musician: An inconsistent part of his character is his competency in music. But quite often, he will play ukulele with all the skill of a toddler, and his singing is one of his greatest crimes.
  • Drives Like Crazy: If an episode features him using a vehicle, he will drive it recklessly.
  • Evil Is Petty: While most of the cartoons depict him having some kind of motivation for harassing Hare, such as wanting to eat him or get back him back for some perceived slight, other times, he'll have none outside of just being a bully.
  • Exposed Animal Bellybutton: On a few occasions, Wolf wears a shirt or a tank-top revealing his belly button. In Episodes 1, 16 (beach episodes), and Episode 9, where he was wearing pajamas this is noticeable.
  • Failure Is the Only Option: It seems like he will never be able to capture the Hare.
  • Fat Flex: He's got a noticeable potbelly, which he frequently likes to suck in.
  • Goofy Print Underwear: Pink flower-print boxers that he also wears as swim trunks.
  • Hates Baths: He's groomed against his will in episode 14, leaving him with his hair in a perm, his shirt tucked in and a bow around his now-brushed tail. As soon as he gets a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he angrily messes up his hair, rips off the bow, and un-tucks his shirt.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Or in this case, hare-trigger temper! Sometimes, he'll chase the Hare for no better reason than to get back at him for perceived slights.
  • Hidden Depths: Some episodes show him to be a competent musician.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: While he is an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist whose misfortunes are there for the audience to laugh at, his attempts to harm Zayats are never treated seriously, and his perseverance, constant failures, and the endless humiliations he goes through make him a pathetic, pitiful sight.
  • Lean and Mean: He is a tall, skinny (save for a potbelly), petty Villain Protagonist.
  • Predators Are Mean: He's a wolf preying on a hare and is indeed a bully.
  • Silly Walk: He has a very swishy, effeminate walk, especially when he's drunk.
  • Smoking Is Not Cool: He is almost never seen without a cigarette in his mouth. The first scene of the series is him kicking over a trash can to try and find any used cigarettes that are still good. He even offers a cigarette to the Hare in one episode, to which the Hare declines. In another, he tries to smoke the Hare out of a phone booth with an entire lit pack and nearly chokes to death as a result.
  • Stalker without a Crush: In every episode, Volk chases after Zayats; occasionally, he snuggles or coochi-coo him after catching. Despite this, Volk's obsession definitely isn't meant to be romantic or sexual.
  • Super-Persistent Predator: In the original Soyuzmultfilm shorts, Volk will drop whatever he's doing for a chance to catch Zayats. He will ignore other hares that are right next to him. Both of these do not apply to the TV series however. Unchanging is the amount of embarrassment and suffering he puts himself through in his pursuit.
  • Villain Protagonist: The Hare really only exists to give the Wolf something to chase.
  • Wild Hair: He has untamed black hair and is a reckless and rather aggressive predator.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: Some episodes have the Hare either making peace with or showing no animosity towards him, yet the Wolf still chases after him. In episode 2, he gets saved from drowning and is necessitated by two beavers in a motorboat, and he kicks them out to steal it.
  • Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: He's the focus character, with the episodes following his antics as he tries to catch Zayats; he has many negative personality traits, being a bad-tempered bully/hooligan/stalker, and his misfortunes are the main source of comedy.

Zayats (Заяц), or The Hare

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_zayats-iz-nu-pogodi-bilo_7913.png

  • All-Loving Hero: He holds no animosity towards the Wolf, only acting out of self-preservation when he's being preyed upon, and sometimes saving the Wolf when he gets himself in trouble.
  • Badass Adorable: Zayats may be innocent and sweet, but isn't afraid to stand up for himself.
  • A Dog Named "Dog": He is just called The Hare, or Zayats in Russian.
  • Herbivores Are Friendly: Contrasting Wolf the bully, Hare is a wholesome, friendly creature.
  • Inconsistent Coloring: In the original shorts, his fur is consistently brown, but in the TV series it's sometimes light grey, and in the short PSA shorts, his fur is solid white with no blush.
    • It's not known if it's intentional, but hares actually can change their fur color to white in the winter, and most of the PSA toons are about weather-stripping windows during cold seasons. However, the low quality and limited color pallet of the shorts suggest the color change could also be for budgetary reasons.
  • Innocent Blue Eyes: He has large, almost animesque blue eyes to emphasize his innocent nature.
  • In Touch with His Feminine Side: While he is male, he is softer and more feminine in comparison to other male characters, and has an interest in gardening.
  • Limited Wardrobe: While Volk tends to wear something different every episode, Zayats more often than not sticks to his hunter green shorts and chartreuse green t-shirt.
  • Rascally Rabbit: Downplayed. The Hare is a sweet and innocent creature, but when the Wolf tries to hurt him, he becomes plucky and cunning.
  • Ridiculously Cute Critter: He is a cute little hare with huge blue eyes.
  • Righteous Rabbit: He is a heroic hare.
  • Stock Animal Diet: He is a hare, and he eats carrots. In one episode, he offers the Wolf a carrot; the Wolf declines.
  • Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Inverted. Despite being male (the Russian word "Zayats" is masculine by default), he has thick eyelashes, pink cheeks, engages in feminine activities, and is voiced by a woman.
  • Vague Age: He has the appearance and attitude of a child, and is often in settings that are largely populated by children (a circus, a fairground), yet appears to be old enough to have his own apartment where he lives alone, and is occasionally implied to be employed where the episode takes place. His parents are seen in the pilot episode, where he is a toddler in a stroller, but in the PS As there is no question that he's an adult. In episode 7, he boards a boat with a ticket for children.
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: Unluckily, he's dressed like a famous Russian singer and he happens to get stuck on stage in front of hundreds of fans.
  • You Don't Look Like You: In the PSA shorts, Zayats is redrawn as a taller, pudgy white rabbit with thick limbs, no blush, tiny black irises with no color, and his clothing colors vary.
  • Your Size May Vary: Generally, Zayats is about waist high to Volk, but in the PSA shorts, he's bumped up to neck-high.


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