History Creator / IshiroHonda

** He was a Buddhist that despised wara nd had to make propaganda war films during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Then he was drafted into the Japanese Imperial Army and became a P.O.W. Then it completely went downhill for him when he saw the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and ''that'' [[BreakTheCutie broke him for the rest of his life]]. Afterwards, he made ''Godzilla'' with its own shell-shocked veteran in the guise of Daisuke Serizawa, who was played by Akihiko Hirata.

* BornLucky: A motar shell literally ''landed in front of him'' during World War II. And he ''took it with him'' in his work station.

** He was a Buddhist that despised war, and had to make propaganda war films during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Then he was drafted into the Japanese Imperial Army, and became a P.O.W. Then it completely went downhill for him when he saw the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and ''that'' [[BreakTheCutie broke him for the rest of his life]]. Afterwards, he made ''Godzilla'' with its own shell-shocked veteran in the guise of Daisuke Serizawa, who was played by Akihiko Hirata.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Depending on the film, you have ''Film/Godzilla1954'', ''Film/{{Rodan}}'', and ''The H-Man'' in one hand with cynicism, but ''Film/{{Mothra}}'', ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'', and ''Film/MothraVsGodzilla'' on the ideal hand. ''Godzilla'' is very notoriously cynical [[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki for a reason]].

* WarIsHell: A main reason why ''Godzilla'' was started as a horror-tragedy. He himself was horrified by UsefulNotes/WorldWarII as he was a prisoner of war, and when he return home on his way to Tokyo, he had to travel through a desolate Hiroshima, and it haunted him for the rest of his life. His personal war time experience as well as his ShellShockedVeteran status is the reason why ''Godzilla'' started out this way.

He is also one of the important key figures who created Godzilla when Creator/{{Toho}} wanted a generic giant monster movie akin to ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms'' that popularized the creation of atomic movie monsters. Honda decidedly went for the GenreDeconstruction of the AttackOfThe50FootWhatever NuclearMutant monsters by portraying Godzilla in a for more realistic and tragic light. When ''Godzilla'' was being produced, Honda decided to turn the movie into what it is today, and it's popular amongst the Japanese and fans of the series. And thus, many of his films had a tragic consequence attached to them. Godzilla however originated from the fact that it was based on his haunted experience of the atomic bombings. After ''Godzilla'', the majority of his {{Kaiju}} films tend to have a bittersweet ending, while others do have happier, less depressing endings.

Sadly, he passed away before he could direct ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'', which would have been his first Heisei ''Godzilla'' film.

-->-- From the man himself

* SceneryPorn: the landscapes and waters of Japan are often a character in and of themselves in his movies, owing to his childhood in the mountains and his fascination with diving and underwater photography. The various destruction scenes often verge into SceneryGorn.

* BreakTheCutie: He was a very optimistic man despite having to fight one of the second biggest wars of the 20th century. As he went home after being released as a war prisoner, well... He saw Hiroshima. The man he once was did not survive.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: When Honda's films are sent to America, his name is sometimes written as "I''no''shiro" Honda because the first character in his name is more commonly read as "ino" or "inoshishi", meaning "wild boar".

Born in 1911, Honda was raised by a Buddhist father, Hokan Honda, who instilled in him a positive outlook in life. His love for movies was made when he saw a silent American western film, and wanted to make his own films. He was married to Kimi Honda (née Yamazaki), and they had two children, Takako and Ryuji Honda. He was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army in the 1930s and again during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, in which he was a foot soldier (putting his movie career on hold for a while). As a film director, for the majority of his early career, he directed propaganda films. Honda's ultimate life-changing experience was the aftermath of the UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki, [[ShellShockedVeteran which haunted him forever afterward]]. [[TheWoobie Poor guy]].