History Characters / ZigAndSharko

* ManBitesMan: He is a shark after all. Amusingly enough biting is one of the less used methods Sharko uses to deal with Zig.

* RocketPunch: In the more exaggerated cartoony segments Sharko has these.

* HospitalHottie: One of the most recurring roles Marina is seen in is of a nurse helping anyone in need. "Nurse Marina", "Bottom's Bottom", "A Mysterious Guest", "Deafening Noise" and "Daddy Dearest" are all episodes where Marina acts as a nurse.

* HiddenDepths: While she comes across as airheaded BrainlessBeauty at first sight, Marina is shown to be very smart and not afraid of getting her hands dirty if the situation calls for it. She was also shown very considerate not dismissing Sharko's dream of being an artistic swimmer either.

* AfraidOfNeedles: Despite clearly being a powerhouse, "Nurse Marina" reveals Sharko is scared of needles.

A NiceGirl of a mermaid who Zig wants to eat and is Sharko's love interest.

Sharko is...well...a shark who's Marina's [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Violently Protective Boyfriend]] who can (and will) beat up anyone who tries to lay a finger on her. Therefore, he's Zig's ArchEnemy because he nigh-constantly tries to devour her. Despite this, the two have their moments of [[FriendlyEnemies getting along]].

* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Most of the times she's the one initiating the episode's adventure while Sharko follows her lead.

* CharacterDevelopment: ''Season 1'' Marina used to be a lot more temperamental and vain, ''Season 2'' Marina is much nicer and she's much nicer towards Sharko demanding less from him and doing a lot more out of selflessness instead of pure interest.

* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Marina has been a nurse, teacher, cook, silkworm farmer, lifeguard, a ship's captain and even a cop throughout the series.

* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Marina has been a nurse, teacher, cook, silkworm farmer, lifeguard, a ship's captain and even a cop throuout the series.

* SupremeChef: "Top Chef Zig" has Marina winning a cooking contest between her, Zig and Sharko (and both are great cooks in this episode). And in "Castle Life" she makes spaghetti good enough to completely fill and satisfy Zig.

* CuteButCacophonic: In Season 2, it is revealed in some episodes that she is able to scream loud enough to blow anyone away. Marina weaponrizes this in "The Song of the Sirens" in order to save Sharko and the passangers from her ship from a malicious siren.

* SupremeChef: "Top Chef Zig" has Marina winning a cooking contest between her, Zig and Sharko (which are great cooks on themselves). And in "Castle Life" she makes spaghetti good enough to completely fill and satisfy Zig.

* NiceHat: They can wear good-looking hats.

[[folder: In General]]

[[folder: Zig]]

[[folder: Bernie]]

* OnlySaneMan: He's clearly the smartest, most down-to-earth character in the show.

* SilentSnarker: While Bernie has a pretty high tolerance for Zig's plans no matter how stupid they are or how badly they end up, Bernie can't help but sigh at his friend in many occasions.
* ShorterMeansSmarter: Bernie is smaller than Zig and smarter than him.

[[folder: In General]]

* ClingyJealousGirl: It goes both ways. Marina will get upset if another girl makes a move on Sharko as Sharko will get upset if he sees some other guy hitting on her.

* RapunzelHair: In "Hair Do Hair Don't" Marina's hair grows to ''ridiculous'' proportions. [[spoiler: Later, Sharko becomes a RareMaleExample; his hair grows so long it reaches his feet]].

[[folder: Marina]]

* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler: Her father is a human sailor while her mother was a mermaid]].

* NeedleworkIsForOldPeople: When she first gets turned into a senior in "The Cloud", [[TextileWorkIsFeminine she does some knitting]]. In "The Maze" Marina, as her regular self, hilariously knits a sweater out of Zig's tail to the hyena's bewilderment.

* NiceHat: Sports a pretty sweet cap on ''Season 3'' after she becomes the luxury cruise's Captain.

* TooDumbToLive: No matter how many times Zig has endangered her, Marina never stops trusting him and falling for his tricks.
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: While rare, there are few occasions where Marina plays an active role in protecting Sharko from harm or something more dangerous than Zig.

[[folder: Sharko]]

* BlindingBangs: [[spoiler: In "Hair Do Hair Don't", he gains bangs which cover his eyes]].

* DependingOnTheWriter: His ability to move outside of water in Season 1; in some episodes, he can't walk on land at all, making the island a safe zone for Zig. In other episodes, he can [[SuddenAnatomy turn his tail into]] [[TopHeavyGuy a tiny pair of legs]] to walk on dry ground. Later seasons have him spend much more time on land, to the point that he barely even swims anymore.

* GoofyPrintUnderwear: "Spotless" has Sharko wear pink underwear with hearts.

* TheWorfEffect: A PlayedForLaughs example in [[spoiler:"A Beautiful Shell"; a TentacledTerror effortlessly defeats [[LightningBruiser him]] to show how dangerous they are]]. In general if something shows up and Sharko can't pummel it away it will usually be more dangerous than whatever Zig comes up with.

[[folder: King Neptune]]

[[folder: King Poseidon]]

[[folder: Hades]]

* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Green skin is an unnatural skin color in RealLife, but he still has it.

[[caption-width-right:306:Marina's as the Captain of the cruise ship in ''Season 3''.]]

[[quoteright:306:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marina_s3.png]]
[[caption-width-right:306:Marina as he appears in ''Season 2'' onward.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Sharko as he appears in ''Season 2'' onwards.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/211_9.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Marina as she appears in ''Season 2'' onward.]]
[[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see Marina's design in ''Season 1''.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/154_20.png]][[/labelnote]]

* DamselInDistress: Zig-zagged; although Zig is frequently tries to kidnap and devour her, Marina very rarely seems to be aware of it, even after she’s been in his mouth several times. Marina usually escapes Zig's clutches with very little effort when she actually wants to. And in "The Conquistador" when someone else than Zig, the eponymous Conquistador, tries to abduct her, [[DamselOutOfDistress she just pummels him away and get back with her life]].

* DamselInDistress: An interesting example; although Zig is frequently tries to kidnap and devour her, Marina very rarely seems to be aware of it. Even after she’s been in his mouth several times. However in "The Conquistador" when someone else than Zig tries to abduct her, [[DamselOutOfDistress she just pummels him away and get back with her life]].

* LethalChef: A variant of the trope in which Marina is bad at making ''drinks'', she's actually pretty good at cooking food. In "Sharko and Zig on the Rocks" she tanks Zig and Sharko's drink stand business with a foul drink she brewed. In "Replicas" one of her attempts at creating a drink is bad enough to put Poseidon out of commission for almost the entire episode and another attempt creates an acid that eats through the table.

** And then there are times Marina ''does'' notice Zig's antics like in "Sea, Surf and Fun" where she, not Sharko, beats the daylights out of Zig for ruining her surfboard, "The Master of Volcano" where she beats Zig when he tries to take her using an invisibility helmet, and "Save the Hyena" where Zig gets an earful for pretending to be drowning just to get her attention.

* NiceGirl: She's generally the nicest character on the show and likes almost everyone she meets. Then again, [[SadistShow that's not saying much]].

* CharacterDevelopment: ''Season 1'' Sharko would go berserk just at the mere sight Zig and liked beating him up a bit ''too much'' to the point he's wistful in "Going Home". ''Season 2'' and ''3'' Sharko still enjoys beating the tar out of Zig but does it mostly when Zig is up to no good, if Zig isn't stirring up trouble Sharko usually leaves him alone. And on rare occasions Sharko even gets along well with Zig, which would never happen in the first season.

* LethalChef: Marina's attempt to cook and make drinks usually end up poorly to say the least. In "Sharko and Zig on the Rocks" she tanks Zig and Sharko's drink stand business with a foul drink she brewed. In "Replicas" one of her attempts at creating a drink is bad enough to put Poseidon out of commission for almost the entire episode and another attempt creates an acid that eats through the table.

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Sharko manages to express this with a delayed blink, a deep sigh and not a single word especially when Zig is being more mischievous/bolder/stupider than usual like in "Boing! Boing!" and "Back to Civilization".

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/311_zig_the_gardener___screenshot_024.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The perpetually hungry hyena.]]
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: The number of animals who like Zig on the island can be counted on one hand.
* AnimalsHateHim: Other animals on the island love to attack him.
* AntiHero: Believe it or not, he is this in some episodes, as the JerkWithAHeartOfGold variant. Likewise, he becomes this trope only when the other enemies are after Marina or when it comes to teaming up with Sharko. In other episodes, he is the VillainProtagonist.
* AnnoyingLaugh: Comes with being a hyena.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He can act like a NiceGuy, especially around Marina (ex. "Birthday Party") but, of course, he's gonna eat her.
* BullyingADragon: Zig sometimes try to gloat and taunt Sharko and he almost always get pummeled for it. And there are times Zig makes the stupid mistake of messing with things that are even bigger and meaner than Sharko.
* BunglingInventor: In contrast with [[GadgeteerGenius Bernie]], Zig's inventions often go haywire or blow up in his face.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Whenever he does something wrong, expect something bad (and hilariously painful) to happen to him.
* CharacterDevelopment: ''Season 1'' Zig relied less on Bernie and many episodes had Zig going off on his own to try eat Marina. ''Season 2'' and ''3'' Zig on the other hand works a lot more together with Bernie, although in return he's become a lot clumsier when it comes to formulating plans.
* TheCharmer: In "Birthday Party", he manages a really good birthday party and acts like this to Marina just to eat her. Then "Loony Cruise" shows us that, with a tuxedo, he can make a woman fall for him.
* TheChewToy: Things tend to go horribly wrong for Zig whenever he tries to eat Marina. Sometimes even when he isn't trying anything fishy, due to the build-up suspicion created by his constant mischief, Sharko will occasionally lash out on Zig for no (apparent) reason, just to be safe like in "Beach Hero" and "The Clairvoyant".
* TheClan: [[spoiler: In "Desert Island Drought", he is shown to be from a large family of very successful hunters]].
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He shows hints of it. [[spoiler: In "Desert Island Drought", he '''''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu manages to defeat Sharko]]''''']].
* {{Determinator}}: He won't stop at ANYTHING to eat Marina.
* TheDreaded: Mostly in ''Season 1'' some of the smaller animals fear him. This trait is basically non-existent on ''Season 2'' and ''3''.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: The second season reveals Zig clearly loves his adoptive mother. Him finding her headband in "Bosom Buddies" even pushes his KindnessButton.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:
** His most reoccurring good quality is that he cares about Bernie. For example, [[spoiler: in "Bodyguard" he easily could have left him to get beaten by an angry mob. Instead, he rescues him and risks getting pummelled in the process]].
** He shows this in spades in "A Relative Problem" when his cousins (nieces in the original version) visit him; he's ecstatic about their visit, hugs them when they arrive, and [[ItMakesSenseInContext made them their own beds]]. Later, [[ClashingCousins however]]...
** An odd one in "Zig's Shadow" (especially compared to the above examples), but he does get along well with his LivingShadow. [[spoiler: He even starts ''crying'' after Sharko defeats him]].
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** A blink-and-you-miss-it example in "Save the Hyena!" but Zig actually looks horrified when he thinks a monkey drowned.
** He's clearly disgusted with the weirdo pilot in "What A Day!" when he tries to eat Bernie.
* EvilFormerFriend: [[VillainProtagonist He]] and Sharko used to be close friends when they were younger.
* FriendlyEnemy: Yes, really. If Marina is out of the picture, there are fair chances that you will actually see Zig and Sharko get along.
* GigglingVillain: While [[TheHyena he often laughs instead]], he can let out some giggles when he's in the devious mood.
* HarmlessVillain: He may always try to ingest Marina, but he's pretty weak and almost always fails at doing so[[note]]The sole exception is the "Catch you on the rewind" episode where he ''actually manages to eats Marina''. It doesn't stick, of course.[[/note]].
* HiddenDepths: Zig is shown to be (usually) a good cook ("Top Chef Zig" and "The Mermaid's Feast") and a surprisingly decent business manager ("Sharko and Zig on the Rocks").
* TheHyena: He always lets out a good laugh.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: His attempts at eating Marina are all for naught and he never catches a break.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He genuinely considers Bernie a friend. The rare occasion where Marina isn't around he (more or less) gets along with Sharko rather well.
* KarmicButtMonkey: Zig is constantly trying to eat sweet Marina, so his AmusingInjuries by Sharko and others are usually very much well-deserved.
* KindnessButton: He once was smack-dab in a plot to kidnap and then eat Marina... but drops it and enters EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas mode after finding his adoptive mother's headband.
* ManipulativeBastard: While not as manipulative as some examples, he sometimes manipulates some characters (e.g. pulling a WoundedGazelleGambit in "Viking Love").
* ObsessedWithFood: He is obsessed with eating Marina. "Self-Defense Academy" shows that Zig's obsession is about mermaid meat in general.
* OpenTheIris: Whenever his hunger gets really bad. It is usually followed by an OhCrap expression from Bernie.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: He sports both red and black in "Dance of the Vampire" during yet another scheme to devour Marina.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: {{Subverted}}, while he ''does'' have red eyes, he is somewhat harmless.
* TheScrappy: InUniverse, Zig is widely hated and laughed at.
* TheSpeechless: While Sharko and Marina are SpeakingSimlish, Zig usually makes groans, eeps, or cackles.
* SympathyForTheHero: It's rare, but he occasionally does this. In "King Neptune's Court" for instance, he pities Sharko after he gets heartbroken due to thinking Marina loved King Neptune instead of him.
* SuperPersistentPredator: He will '''always''' attempt to eat Marina, no matter what would happen if he fails.
* SupremeChef: "Top Chef Zig" reveals the side dishes he makes, usually with intention of having Marina as the main ingredient, like soups, taste pretty nice.
* TeensAreMonsters: It's shown in "Teen Rebels" that he wasn't above trying to eat Marina when he was a teenager.
* VillainousUnderdog: He's physically weaker than [[HeroAntagonist Sharko]] (who has SuperStrength). And for the "Villainous" part, just look at some of these {{trope}}s!
* VillainProtagonist: The main protagonist of the show who tries to eat Marina.
* WeakButSkilled: In a straight-up fight he always gets ''destroyed'' by Sharko, but he and Bernie are both really great builders and constructors.
* WouldHitAGirl: Zig has no problem with devouring Marina.

* CharacterDevelopment: ''Season 1'' Sharko liked beating up Zig a bit ''too much'' to the point he's wistful in "Going Home". ''Season 2'' and ''3'' Sharko while still enjoys beating the tar out of Zig does it mostly when Zig is up to no good, and on rare occasions even gets along well with him, which would never happen in the first season.