Dandy Lion

"*The War Criminal of Leo―Conquering and killing, Dandy Lion.*"

— **Dandy Lion**

## Appearances

**Dandy Lion** (ダンディ・ライオン, *Dandi Raion*) is an antagonist of *Zodiac War*. He is the **War Criminal of Leo** (『獅子(しし)』の戦犯(せんぱん), *"Shishi" no Senpan*), part of the war criminals of the twelve western zodiac signs as well as their de facto leader.

## Personality

Dandy Lion is a bold and daring man as well as a natural-born leader, his overwhelming charisma enabling him to successful overthrow his country's government and even gaining the respect of the other war criminals. He refers to the remaining warriors as prey, seeming to take delight in hunting them down, so much so that he would've been disappointed if his air strike had been successful in annihilating them. He doesn't hesitate to walk into the cave he believes the warriors to be hiding in, further demonstrating his courage. He is also capable of abject cruelty shown by the inhumane executions he carried out after his revolution, and his stubbornness in refusing to show any remorse for it was part of what led to his exile. Like all the other war criminals, Dandy Lion hates war and is willing to give up his own life in order to eradicate it. However, despite his tough and manly personality, Dandy Lion has a more childish and sensitive side to him; this is best displayed by his love of uranography and astrology, him giving all the war criminals their aliases, and the rumor that he went as far as to change the calendar in his country just so his birthday would fall under the Leo zodiac sign.

## Appearance

Dandy Lion is a large man with a muscular body with brown eyes and long, wavy golden hair which seamlessly melds with his beard to give him a lion-like mane. He often wears a brown military uniform decorated with a multitude of medals on the left breast, a red scarf around his neck with a star-shaped ornament on the front, as well as black gloves and long boots. He's also constantly seen with a cigar.

## Background

Dandy Lion was originally a soldier in the air force paratroops of a huge nation, but after gaining the support of the people with his overwhelming charisma, he managed to overthrow the government. The revolution itself had the support of the neighboring nations, but afterwards, his harsh and horrific treatment of both the rebel army and the opposing faction using inhumane execution methods caused controversy in the international humanity, and he showed no remorse no matter how much bashing he received. After a political defeat, an arrest warrant was issued for him, and he fled the country. After his departure, the nation was invaded by neighboring countries and was eventually wiped off the map. There's a theory that he was the one who led the invasion into his country after his exile, though the truth is unknown. It is also theorized that one of the factors that spawned the opposition against him was his absurd change of the country's calendar just so that his birthday would fall into the Leo zodiac sign, though that is also unconfirmed.

## Appellations

* Others for Dandy Lion
* Dandy Lion for Others

 King

 Old Man Sir Cancer

## Quotes

"The War Criminal of Taurus―Vowing and killing, Look Me."
「『獅子(しし)』の戦犯(せんぱん)――『統(す)べて殺(ころ)す』ダンディ・ライオン」, *"'Shishi' no Senpan―'Subete Korosu' Dandi Raion"*
—Dandy Lion's self-introduction, *Zodiac War Vs. Zodiac War*, *Fifth Battle*

"I wish for the stars."
「星(ほし)が欲(ほ)しい」, *"Hoshi ga hoshii."*
—Dandy Lion's wish

"If only war didn't exist."
「戦争(せんそう)さえなければ」, *"Sensō sae nakereba."*
—Dandy Lion's true wish, *Zodiac War Vs. Zodiac War*, *Final Battle*

## Trivia

* The pronunciation of Dandy Lion's name is similar to that of the word "dandelion".
* Between the twelve warriors and the twelve war criminals, Dandy Lion is the only one who doesn't use an alias.
* The title of the chapter dedicated to Dandy Lion, *Fifth Battle: Snake in One's Bosom*, translated literally from Japanese is "insect within the lion's body", which is an idiomatic expression meaning "treacherous friend".

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 *Zodiac War Vs. Zodiac War*, *Fifth Battle: Snake in One's Bosom*
2. ↑ *Zodiac War Vs. Zodiac War*, *Final Battle: Fish Will Not Live in Water That Is Too Clean*