COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
Would you believe how many misconceptions there are out there about Mobile Suit Gundam, 08th MS Team and other series that have yet to see American airwaves? There are... alot, to say the least. I've addressed some here.
When you see a word spelled "Zion" or "Jion," don't wonder what it is. There are actually three different ways to spell Zeon. Apparently, it was originally spelled "Zion" before being dubbed, and the really funny thing is that it is pronounced "Jion" in Japanese. Wierd, no?
The Zeon rallying war cry? Hail Zeon? Nope... It's actually said "Sieg Zeon." Sieg is a German word for "Victory", therefore, "Sieg Zeon" would mean something like "Victory for Zeon." Hitler's rallying war cry, "Sieg Heil," roughly translated to "Victory and Welfare!" Apparently Toonami has deemed "Sieg" too Nazi-ish and replaced it with "Hail" in Mobile Suit Gundam. An interesting thing, though, is that during Ghinius Sakhalin's speech in 08th MS Team, he says "Zieck Zeon!", which, to my knowledge, is a slight mistranslation. Well, they almost got it right...
How the hell do you pronounce that thing? People everywhere are contesting how you pronounce "Gouf", the mighty blue MS-07B. In Mobile Suit Gundam, it is pronounced "Guf". In 08th MS Team, it is pronounced "Goof". Personally, I pronounce it like it is said in Japanese, "Gaff". Whatever's your pleasure seems to work here.
Principality of Zeon? Duchy of Zeon? Principality? Duchy? It seems that either works in most situations, though I personally like Duchy better. As far as I know, the thing works like so. The Principality of Zeon is apparently the whole organization, i.e. Zeon Daikun (you'll learn about him later)'s principle of how Spacenoids, much smarter than Earthnoids, were more likely to facilitate the Newtype Revolution. The Duchy of Zeon is apparently the colony cluster of Side Three, as the term "Duchy" means "land ruled by a duke". Since Degwin Zabi's rank is officially the Archduke, that would support my theory. I'm open to more suggestions by anyone.
Here a Zaku, there a Zaku... aren't there too many Zakus out there to remember? I'll see if I can help. Okay, the venerable Zaku II is the grunt mobile suit of MSG and 08th MS Team, though there are many variantions. The MS-06C is the early version, used for nuclear warfare. The F-type is the generic Zaku seen in all space battles in Mobile Suit Gundam. The J-type is a bit of a red herring. In Mobile Suit Gundam, the J-type is externally identical to the F-type, though it is lighter than the F-type with the deletion of systems necessary for space combat. In 08th MS Team, the J-type is a pumped-up version of its MSG counterpart, equipped with more modern looking weapons, darker colors, spikes on its shoulder shield and more muscular arms. Still yet, we have the K-type Zaku Cannon, a modified version with a 180mm howitzer slapped onto one shoulder, and finally the S-type, faster and more manuverable and designed for commander-use. Colonel Char Anzamble of the Zeon Space Assault Force is most well known for his pink-and-red machine, though keep in mind that not all S-types are like that. Since most S-types are assigned to aces, they typically paint them in their custom paint scheme. For example, Major Anavel Gato of the Space Assault Force painted his green and blue, Shin Matsunaga of the Mobile Assault Force painted his all white, and Johnny Ridden, also of the Mobile Assault Force, painted his brown, blood-red and yellow. BUT WAIT! That's still not the end. Making a brief appearance in 0080: War in the Pocket, is one of my personal favorites, the Fz-type "Zaku Kai." This interesting mobile suit was years ahead of the earlier C- and F-type Zakus, maintaining nearly twice the speed, extra armor, and a better weapon for punching through Federal Luna Titanium. Additionally, the Zeon also fielded a somewhat less-powerful Zaku, the stalwart F2-type. Although not nearly as wonderful as the Fz-type, it was more versatile. This mobile suit appears in 0083: Stardust Memories in both Zeon and Federal hands. Go Zaku!