How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Godzilla.
Quote #1
WOMAN PASSENGER: You're terrible. I barely escaped the atomic bomb in Nagasaki—and now this!
MAN PASSENGER: I'll have to find a place to evacuate to.
WOMAN PASSENGER: Find me one, too.
OLDER PASSENGER: Evacuate again? I've had enough!
Throughout the film, Director Honda layers in slice-of-life stories referencing World War II. In this almost random scene, three characters directly compare Godzilla to Nagasaki, and the older passenger mentions evacuation, something many Japanese would have experienced during Operation Downfall. In this way, the film directly connects its story to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Quote #2
EMIKO: I'm sure Father will understand.
OGATA: We have nothing to be ashamed of, but when I think about Serizawa, I lose my nerve. If not for the war, he wouldn't have lost his eye.
Like the passengers on the train, Serizawa's backstory includes World War II. He was physically scarred by his experiences, and it seems clear this makes him want to use his research and knowledge to benefit society, not provide it with another weapon.
Quote #3
NEWS REPORTER: This is absolutely unbelievable, yet it's unfolding before our very eyes! Godzilla's leaving a sea of flames in its wake! Owari-cho, Shinbashi, Tamachi, Shiba, Shibaura—all a sea of flames!
The imagery of Godzilla's attack draws from the devastation of the Tokyo Firebombing. During the military operation, over the course of 48 hours, U.S. warplanes dropped 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo in what would become the deadliest air raid of World War II. For a Japanese audience in 1954, the news reporter's description would have called this event to mind.