Zeon
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- For the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! character, see Zeno and Dufort
In the TV anime Mobile Suit Gundam (Universal Century series) universe, Zeon can refer to the Republic of Zeon, the Principality of Zeon or Neo-Zeon. It is also referred to as the Duchy of Zeon or the Zeon Dukedom.
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[edit] The Republic of Zeon
The Republic of Zeon was initially founded by Zeon Zum Deikun, who declared the colony located at the second Earth-Luna Lagrangian Point, named Side 3, independent from the Earth Federation in UC0058. For the next several years, Zeon Zum Deikun and his followers dealt with issues surrounding their independence, chiefly the economic pressure applied to Side 3 by the Earth Federation in their effort to force Side 3 back into the Federation. During this time Side 3 formed its first national guard unit. Unfortunately for the Republic of Zeon, Zeon Zum Deikun unexpectedly died in UC 0068, leaving Side 3 without a leader. After the end of the One-Year War, the Republic was reestablished briefly, with a puppet government which the Earth Federation controlled.
[edit] The Principality of Zeon
After Deikun's (suspicious) death, his advisor, Degwin Sodo Zabi became leader and renamed it the Principality of Zeon, changing its flag as well. Degwin rapidly expanded the colony's national guard units into a full fledged army. Mobile Suits and other unique weapons made their first appearance. War was soon declared on the Earth Federation.
The conflict became known as the One Year War. The first week, known as the One-Week War (Jan 3 - Jan 10, UC0079) resulted in the death of 3 billion people (2.8 billion deaths in colonies by NBC weapons and 0.2 billion estimated as a result of dropping of colony on earth.). In the following Battle of Loum on January 15, most residents of the Side 5 colonies are also killed. The combined attacks result in the death of nearly a third of the total human population.
After the colony drop, the estimated direct deaths are 0.32 billion and second causes deaths are over 2 billion by the after effect of the drop due to a lot of places lost contact and losses way for survival. An after war research lowers the number to a total of 0.2 billions in total during the first week of the One Year War. As a consequence of the astounding losses, the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon signed the Antarctic Treaty on Jan 31, which prevented NBC weapons and colony drops.
The very next day (Feb 1) after the treaty, Zeon began the formation of its Zeon Earth Attack Force. By the middle of 0079, the Zeon forces had control of about 70% of the Earth. Nevertheless, after several major operations (Velvet, Odessa, et al.), the Earth Federation regained much of the lost ground. The war eventually climaxed in the Battles of Solomon and A Baoa Qu, where the Earth Federation's superior forces took control of both the fortresses. The Principality of Zeon finally surrendered with the Treaty of Granada, on January 14, UC0080.
Several years later (UC0083), the Delaz fleet, under Aiguille Delaz, sought to rebuild Zeon in Operation Stardust. The resulting colony drop destroyed much of the North American farmland. The Delaz fleet was soon defeated, but the war led to the Earth Federation's creation of a force called the Titans to prevent future insurrection.
[edit] Zeon Armed Forces
In UC 0079, the Zeon army was composed of three branches:
- Zeon Space Attack Force
- The equivalent of the Earth Federation's Space Forces, the SAF consisted of six battle fleets modeled after the Earth Federation Navy, with space battleships and mobile suit carriers used as their primary weapons.
- The Commander of the Space Attack Force was Vice Admiral Dozle Zabi. The Space Attack Force's headquarters were based in the Fortress of Solomon.
- Zeon Mobile Assault Force
- The Commander of the MAF was Rear Admiral Kycilia Zabi.
- Its headquarters were based at the lunar city of Granada. Consisting of the equivalent of about one battle fleet, Kycilia's forces include intelligence services, research projects like the Flanagan Institute, resource and mining operations, and special forces teams like the Black Tri-Stars, Chimaera Corp and the Midnight Fenrir Corp .
- Zeon Earth Attack Force
- Commanded by Captain Garma Zabi, the EAF was headquartered in California.
- Because the EAF was presumably the largest of the other three branches, the role of Garma Zabi was practically ceremonial, since the Earth Attack Force consisted of an Army, Navy, and Air Force and he was at the time only in his early twenties. Other senior officials who still reported to Garma hold the reins in the Army, Navy and Air Force respectively. Garma's main duty was to serve as commandant of Zeon-occupied North America.
[edit] Zeon Armed Forces Ranks
Largely based on the Navy, these are the ranks held by Zeon's space force's soldiers and leaders during the one year war. They are given as follows:
- Petty Officer 3rd class - Starting rank
- Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Petty Officer 1st Class
- Chief Petty Officer
- Master Chief Petty Officer
- Ensign
- Lieutenant Junior Grade
- Lieutenant
- Lieutenant Commander
- Commander
- Captain
- Rear Admiral
- Vice Admiral
- Admiral - Highest rank inside the armed forces
[edit] The First Neo-Zeon Movement (Axis Zeon)
Several more years passed as the Titans reigned with brute force. In UC0088 the Titans were eventually defeated by the Anti Earth Union Group (AEUG).
The Axis Zeon (or simply Axis) were remnant members of the Pricipality of Zeon who, for various reasons, retreated to the asteroid Axis at the end of the One Year War. Most members of this group seek to forcibly re-establish the Principality of Zeon. They were lead by Haman Karn, who was chosen to rule over the Principality supporters until Mineva Loa Zabi became old enough to do so on her own.
The Axis returned to the earth sphere on 12 October, UC0087, during the height of the Earth Federation's civil war. Both the Federation and the AEUG were eager to ally with the Axis fleet, thus virtually doubling their fleet.
The AEUG was the first group to open negotiations with the Axis, but failed as Haman choose to side with the Titans. Later the AEUG secretly opened a second round of negotiations, where Haman agreed to assist them against the Titans. In truth, Haman's goal was to play the Titans and AEUG against each other, so that whichever side emerged victorious would be sufficiently weakened that her forces could overcome them and seize control of the Earth Sphere.
For the next year or so, the bulk of the Earth Federation's military fought the Neo Zeon's army. Haman Karn's movement died with her during Glemy Toto's rebellion, thus concluding the First Neo-Zeon Movement.
[edit] The Second Neo-Zeon Movement
In UC0093, Zeon Deikun's son, Casval Rem Deikun (aka Zeon's legendary ace, Char Aznable, the Red Comet) created a second Neo-Zeon. This movement was founded under the ceremonial goal of moving all of humanity into space so the Earth could restore itself. Char's plan involved a series of massive asteroid collisions against the Earth, ultimately leading to a nuclear winter that would allow the planet and natural order to gradually reassert itself. The final collision attempt was to involve the huge asteroid, and headquarters of the previous Neo-Zeon movement, Axis. The plan was ultimately foiled by the Federation's Londo Bell taskforce, headed by Bright Noa, and his old adversary from the One Year War, Amuro Ray. Char's loss of the Second Neo-Zeon War effectively ended the Zeon/Neo Zeon movement.
In UC0100, The Republic of Zeon officially rejoined the Earth Federation.
[edit] Mars Zeon
Appearing in the manga series Gundam F90, the Mars Zeon was a group of Zeon rebels who fled to Mars rather than Axis after the One-Year War. Surviving on their own for a long time, the Mars Zeon was later reinforced by remnants of the Second Neo-Zeon movement. Using the former Neo-Zeon members' AMS-119 Geara Doga mobile suits, the Mars Zeons were able to produce mobile suits outwardly similar to the Principality's most famous designs, but possessing performance superior to the Geara Doga. The Mars Zeon first made their presence known in UC 0120, when they stole one of the prototype F90 Gundam F90 units, leading the 13th Autonomous Corps to pursue them back to Mars. There, it was learned that the Mars Zeons had converted Olympus Mons into a gigantic railcannon, and were planning on bombarding the Earth and destroying the Federation. Thanks to the efforts of the 13th Autonomous, however, the Mars Zeons were defeated and the Olympus Cannon was destroyed.
The Mars Zeons were also nicknamed the Olds Mobile Army by the Federation, because of their use of old-style mobile suits. The Olds Mobile Army eventually invade Earth in UC 0122 and become allied with Crossbone Vanguard. However, the Federation start to deploy their scale-down mobile suit like F71 G-Cannon and RGM-109 Heavygun which prove to be very effective against Olds Mobile Army's larger mobile suit.
[edit] Trivia
Early official romanizations were rendered "Zion". Early fansubbers often used the alternate romanization "Jion", derived from the pronunciation of the Japanese name, "ジオン". Frederick Schodt chose to use "Zeon" when he translated the Gundam novels into English, and this later became the official romanization. Schodt mentions in his notes to the Gundam novelizations that he chose this to keep the sound correct, yet avoid unintentional offense problems concurrent with the use of the term "Zion," which is also a religious/political term in the real world. In the Cartoon Network run and English localization of Mobile Suit Gundam, the Zeons were also derisively referred to as "Zekes", originally taken from Gundam Sentinel: 0079, one of the many Gundam side stories written by Masaya Takahashi and added by translator Neil Nadelman, to reflect the tendency to nickname war enemies, i.e. Yankees (Civil War), Commies (Cold War), Charlie (Vietnam). The Zeons uses similar nicknames for the Earth Federal Forces, such as "Feddies", which were used in fansubs prior to Gundam's official release.
Outside of the armed forces ranks, Degwin Sodo Zabi is sometimes referred to the "Sovereign" of Zeon.
[edit] The Zeon-German connection
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In early Bandai plastic Gundam model kits, "Principality of Zeon" was titled "Zion Dukedom"; in some cases, "Herzogtum" (German for "dukedom") was used. In Gundam 0080, the prototype mobile suit, Kämpfer, is German for "fighter", and a variation of the Gelgoog, the Gelgoog Jäger; Jäger is German for "hunter". In Gundam 0083, the gigantic mobile armour at the end of the series, the Neue Ziel, which is German for "new goal"; in addition, two new variants of the Dom were introduced: the Dom Tropen (German for "tropical") and the Dom Fünf (German for "five"). In ZZ Gundam, Zeon's tradition of Germanifying mechs continued (albeit more and more of them started to sound Asian/African in origin, like the Jamru Fin and the Gaza-C), with the Sturm Dias (Sturm is German for "storm"), and the Dreissen (this may of may not be a corruption of the German word "dreizehn", which is "thirteen", but the "drei" indicates that the number three is involved; plus, it even looks like a Dom). In Char's Counterattack, the German-themed mobile suits ended with the Jagd Doga (Jagd is 'hunt' in German) and the Zeon movement. However, in Victory Gundam, a mobile armor appears named the Birknau (a Japanese corruption of part of the name of Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp). Starting from Gundam F-91, the Nazi German themes were no longer introduced, due to the shift from Zeon to the Crossbone Vanguard.
When Bandai re-issued new Gundam plastic model kits in 1999, "Zion Dukedom" was renamed to "Principality of Zeon". In the official Sunrise-approved name list, it was explained that the "kokoku" is used to describe the real-world principalities of Andorra, Monaco, et cetera.
Also to support this connection is the Adolf Hitler reference in episode 40 of Mobile Suit Gundam (episode 39 in the English dub). The head of the Zabi family, Degwin Sodo Zabi, asked his eldest son (and the person with all the real power), Gihren Zabi, what he wanted to do if and when he managed to destroy the Earth Federation with the Solar Ray System. Gihren says that he will lower the human population and only permit breeding among the "superior races". Degwin asks him if he's heard of Adolf Hitler, and Gihren responds that he thinks he was a person from the Middle Ages (not to be confused with the Middle Ages we know), and Degwin says that he was a tyrant, and a madman, "completely out of touch with the rest of the world". He notes that Gihren is following him. Gihren claims that he will be victorious, and tells his father that he should "see how a Hitler follower fights" (in some versions, he calls himself a "Hitler Tail"). Degwin mutters that Hitler was defeated (in some versions, he says that Hitler was killed by his own people). This exchange was heavily changed in the English dub to eliminate all references to Hitler, replacing them with more general talk of "Fascists". The exchange is complete in the subtitles for the three Gundam movies.
As the Principality of Zeon was highly ethnically diverse in its makeup, perhaps even more so than the Earth Federation. It should be noted, that by "Superior Races," Gihren is referring to the 'elite' spacenoids of Side 3, this is perhaps the greatest proof that he is much like Hitler, who felt that the Germans, or the Aryan race, were truly superior. Both also hate democracy, and had a nasty affiliation with guns and their heads (despite the fact that Hitler shot himself, and Kycilia Zabi shot Gihren in the head).
Other similarities between both the Nazis and Zeon include rallying cries, their defeat and rebirth, even the term "Axis". The two most familiar Nazi phrases are "Heil Hitler" and "Sieg Heil", meaning, respectively, "Hail Hitler" and "Victory and Glory". Gihren Zabi coined the phrase "Sieg Zeon" (actually, Ja: ジーク・ジオン, Jiiku Jion) at his younger brother, Garma's, funeral. This has been used in many of the Japanese series with Zeon in them, but the Americans, under the supervision of Yoshiyuki Tomino, changed this in the two Vancouver dubbed Universal Century series, Mobile Suit Gundam, and Char's Counterattack; to keep the phrase in a similar fashion, it was merely changed to "Hail Zeon". This is not true of American-dubbed versions. The English-translated releases of Gundam 0080, Gundam 0083, and The 08th MS Team, as well as video games such as Gundam Side Story: The Blue Destiny and Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes, use the "Sieg Zeon" cry in even the dubbed English versions, although this is because the two of the series was translated before Mobile Suit Gundam was dubbed into English and the three series where not Tomino-directed series.
Most prominently featured in Gundam 0083 is the battle flag of Zeon, which is similar to the War Ensign of Nazi Germany. The Zeon flag uses the same color and striping scheme, with the Zeon emblem in black on a white disc, with black and white striping. However, differing from the Nazi War Ensign, the Zeon emblem is located in the center of the flag, while the original swastika was placed more on the left side. The flag was used on the DVD cover of the 2nd volume of the Mobile Suit Gundam release in North America, as a backdrop for Char Aznable and his Zaku, although this flag did not appear within any Tomino-directed series.
[edit] Other references to Zeon
In the Star Trek episode "Patterns of Force", Zeon was a planet in the same system as the planet Ekos, which had (thanks to interference by Federation historian John Gill, who had been sent as a cultural observer) developed a Nazi culture; on Ekos, Zeons were the persecuted minority, analogous to the Jews in Nazi Germany.
Star Trek's Zéon (ZAY-on) is pronounced differently from Gundam's Zeon (ZEE-on), and predates Gundam by over a decade.
