Live action TV
Description
Edmond Honda is a powerful sumo wrestler who owns and operates a traditional Japanese public bathhouse, or sento. He stands 185 centimeters tall and is recognized by his imposing physique, black hair tied in a topknot called a chonmage, and distinctive red and white face paint known as kumadori, which is traditionally used in kabuki theater. His typical attire consists of a blue and white yukata worn over a red mawashi, the belt worn by sumo wrestlers.
Honda is characterized by his immense pride in his Japanese heritage and his chosen sport of sumo wrestling. He is a boisterous and passionate individual who approaches every match with the gravity and spectacle of a theatrical performance, a trait reflected in his kabuki-inspired appearance. Despite his intimidating size and strength, he is known to be a friendly, honorable, and good-natured competitor who values friendship and sportsmanship highly. His deep sense of honor is tied to his desire to elevate sumo's reputation on a global scale, as he is frustrated that the world outside Japan does not regard sumo as a legitimate martial art.
His primary motivation is to prove that sumo wrestlers are among the greatest fighters in the world. To achieve this, he leaves his dojo to compete in the World Warrior tournament, seeking to demonstrate the techniques and power of his sport to an international audience. In later storylines, he also investigates the criminal organization Shadaloo after discovering its involvement in supplying performance-enhancing drugs to other sumo wrestlers.
Throughout the Street Fighter series, Honda acts as a representative of Japanese tradition and a friendly rival to many other characters. He has a notable relationship with Ryu, another Japanese fighter, with whom he shares a mutual respect and has sparred. He also develops a rivalry and subsequent friendship with the Russian wrestler Zangief, with the two working together to destroy the Shadaloo base. His unique rivalry with the masked fighter known as Sodom begins when Sodom, obsessed with Japanese culture, challenges him to a sumo match. In later games, he interacts with characters like the speedy Mexican wrestler El Fuerte, sharing a meal after their fight, and the oiled Turkish wrestler Hakan, with whom he debates the superiority of their respective grappling styles. In the Street Fighter V and VI storylines, he takes on the role of a local business owner, having reopened his bathhouse and started a successful chanko-nabe (sumo hot pot) restaurant.
In the animated film Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Honda plays a prominent supporting role. He is first seen competing against the stretchy-limbed yogi Dhalsim in Calcutta for a cash prize. During the fight, Dhalsim uses his psychic abilities to gain the advantage, but his concentration is broken by the sudden arrival of Ryu, allowing Honda to win the match by forfeit. Recognizing Ryu as a fellow Japanese fighter who helped him, Honda shares the prize money with him and offers him a place to stay. Later in the film, while training with Ryu in the mountains, they are confronted by the villainous M. Bison and a brainwashed Ken Masters. Demonstrating his courage, Honda charges at Bison but misses, instead clashing with the boxer Balrog. The two powerful fighters brawl, eventually tumbling off a cliff. Despite this fall, Honda survives and is later seen carrying the unconscious bodies of both Balrog and the allied soldier Guile. His actions, though he loses the direct fight, show his immense durability and loyalty.
As a fighter, Honda's abilities are rooted entirely in sumo wrestling techniques. His signature move is the Hyaku Retsu Harite, or Hundred Hand Slap, a rapid series of powerful palm strikes inflicted at close range. Another of his most famous techniques is the Super Zutsuki or Sumo Headbutt, where he launches his body horizontally across the screen like a torpedo to ram his opponent with his head. He also possesses the Sumo Smash, an attack where he leaps into the air and crashes down onto his opponent using his weight. As a grappler, he can execute the Oicho Nage, a powerful overarm throw that is a classic sumo move. Over the course of the series, he has achieved the rank of ozeki and is considered of yokozuna-class ability, though constant travels have delayed his official promotion to the highest rank.
Honda is characterized by his immense pride in his Japanese heritage and his chosen sport of sumo wrestling. He is a boisterous and passionate individual who approaches every match with the gravity and spectacle of a theatrical performance, a trait reflected in his kabuki-inspired appearance. Despite his intimidating size and strength, he is known to be a friendly, honorable, and good-natured competitor who values friendship and sportsmanship highly. His deep sense of honor is tied to his desire to elevate sumo's reputation on a global scale, as he is frustrated that the world outside Japan does not regard sumo as a legitimate martial art.
His primary motivation is to prove that sumo wrestlers are among the greatest fighters in the world. To achieve this, he leaves his dojo to compete in the World Warrior tournament, seeking to demonstrate the techniques and power of his sport to an international audience. In later storylines, he also investigates the criminal organization Shadaloo after discovering its involvement in supplying performance-enhancing drugs to other sumo wrestlers.
Throughout the Street Fighter series, Honda acts as a representative of Japanese tradition and a friendly rival to many other characters. He has a notable relationship with Ryu, another Japanese fighter, with whom he shares a mutual respect and has sparred. He also develops a rivalry and subsequent friendship with the Russian wrestler Zangief, with the two working together to destroy the Shadaloo base. His unique rivalry with the masked fighter known as Sodom begins when Sodom, obsessed with Japanese culture, challenges him to a sumo match. In later games, he interacts with characters like the speedy Mexican wrestler El Fuerte, sharing a meal after their fight, and the oiled Turkish wrestler Hakan, with whom he debates the superiority of their respective grappling styles. In the Street Fighter V and VI storylines, he takes on the role of a local business owner, having reopened his bathhouse and started a successful chanko-nabe (sumo hot pot) restaurant.
In the animated film Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Honda plays a prominent supporting role. He is first seen competing against the stretchy-limbed yogi Dhalsim in Calcutta for a cash prize. During the fight, Dhalsim uses his psychic abilities to gain the advantage, but his concentration is broken by the sudden arrival of Ryu, allowing Honda to win the match by forfeit. Recognizing Ryu as a fellow Japanese fighter who helped him, Honda shares the prize money with him and offers him a place to stay. Later in the film, while training with Ryu in the mountains, they are confronted by the villainous M. Bison and a brainwashed Ken Masters. Demonstrating his courage, Honda charges at Bison but misses, instead clashing with the boxer Balrog. The two powerful fighters brawl, eventually tumbling off a cliff. Despite this fall, Honda survives and is later seen carrying the unconscious bodies of both Balrog and the allied soldier Guile. His actions, though he loses the direct fight, show his immense durability and loyalty.
As a fighter, Honda's abilities are rooted entirely in sumo wrestling techniques. His signature move is the Hyaku Retsu Harite, or Hundred Hand Slap, a rapid series of powerful palm strikes inflicted at close range. Another of his most famous techniques is the Super Zutsuki or Sumo Headbutt, where he launches his body horizontally across the screen like a torpedo to ram his opponent with his head. He also possesses the Sumo Smash, an attack where he leaps into the air and crashes down onto his opponent using his weight. As a grappler, he can execute the Oicho Nage, a powerful overarm throw that is a classic sumo move. Over the course of the series, he has achieved the rank of ozeki and is considered of yokozuna-class ability, though constant travels have delayed his official promotion to the highest rank.