Karate Kid stars return in Cobra Kai.
Mr. Miyagi said once: “If the root is strong, the tree will survive.” Played by the late Pat Morita in the classic Karate Kid films, Miyagi had a real knack for wisdom, even by sensei standards. Nearly four decades since the first movie, the franchise is more than surviving; it’s again a phenomenon, with the comedy-drama sequel series Cobra Kai amassing a global fan base rivaling that of the original productions.
Naturally, karate is a connective tissue in this now decades-long story, and it’s also the main event in each Cobra Kai episode, with fight sequences that amaze and stunt teams that make us believe each of these actors is a master of martial arts. But the enduring strength of the saga is its universal coming-of-age story. The series (on YouTube for two seasons before finding a home at Netflix) sees this next generation of teens, well, being teens. And they certainly need some guidance from their new senseis, all of whom reprise their roles from the 80s.
Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Chozen (Yuji Okumoto)
The senseis — Daniel LaRusso, played by Ralph Macchio; Johnny Lawrence, played by William Zabka; and John Kreese, played by Martin Kove — still have their own growing up to do. (Morita passed away in 2005, but his character’s presence is still felt.) In Season 3, Macchio’s LaRusso returns to Japan to revisit Mr. Miyagi’s teachings in hopes of salvaging a sinking business and his relationship with his daughter. And while Kove’s Kreese isn’t exactly sitting down with a therapist to work out his violent tendencies, audiences find a glimmer of humanity when they see his bad-guy origin story through flashbacks from his time in the Vietnam War.
The most rewarding evolution comes from Zabka’s Johnny. “I took the crane kick to the face for 35 years,” Zabka says, describing a feeling of suspended animation ever since he endured that famous hit in the original film. It’s not clear whether the actor is speaking of his character’s experience or of his own relationship to the role, but either way the waiting is finally over. In Cobra Kai, Johnny, the 80s stud and total jerk, finds himself broke, a little broken, and somehow looking out for the underdogs. Even Zabka seems surprised by the evolution: “Give a guy no friends and a beard and suddenly you start rooting for him.”
Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and John Kreese (Martin Kove)