Raiden Shark

As a young shark, my name was Jimmy, and I used to play with my brother, Sam, and best friend, Stan. But the humans took me away from my family and friends. When I finally got back to the ocean, everything had changed. My parents were gone, and I had these crazy horns stuck on my head. Do you wonder why I’m angry?

What happened to you in that tank where the humans kept you?

I don’t talk about that. There were bright lights, humans staring at me, and I was all alone. They treated me like a freak!!

Why do you use the name “Raiden” instead of “Jimmy”?

The one human that was good to me gave me the name Raiden. I kept it because I didn’t feel like a “Jimmy” any more. “Jimmy” was a little shark with a family who didn’t have any fear or anger. “Raiden” is powerful. “Raiden” is the God of Thunder!

When the Diamond of the Seas was stolen, what was your plan?

I was glad that Diamond disappeared. Without it, King Neptune would no longer control the oceans. But, more importantly, the bright lights from his crystal palace would be forever darkened. I’ve been getting these terrible headaches ever since my time in the tank. The pain is so bad, and it makes me very, very angry.

Is that the only reason?

Well, of course, with old Neptune gone, I’d take over as the leader of the water world. That’s a nice bonus, too.

Why do you think great white sharks are so often portrayed as the evil monster in stories?

We are eating machines. We’ve got a mouth that is three feet wide and filled with very sharp teeth. And we’re very large, about 20 feet or so long. That means we can pretty much each whatever we can get our teeth on. If that makes us nasty, I can’t help it. I’m doing what comes naturally.

Ummm, are you feeling hungry right now?

Now that you mention it, I could go for a little snack.

Guess I’ll be leaving then!