13/39
Avildsen shot hours of tournament footage from multiple angles
Narrative
Decades after their 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament match, middle-aged Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence find themselves once again as martial arts competitors. During the filming of the original Karate Kid, the late director John G. The crew behind Cobra Kai dug through the studio vault and found a bunch of never-before-seen clips that they were able to bring into the series through flashbacks. One of them features Zabka’s real-life mother in the stands in various angles that weren’t seen until 2018.
Ralph Macchio told Uproxx that there are three brand-new angles to the famous crane kick
Many people believe that Miyagi’s name on his tombstone is a continuity error, as in Karate Kid 4 (1994) his name is listed as Keisuke, but it was actually previously shown on a sign that Chozen gave him in Karate Kid 2 (1986) as Nariyoshi. This means that The Next Karate Kid changed his name, while Cobra Kai kept the name he was previously given. Another interesting fact, however, is that the name given in Karate Kid Part II was not his original given name. Miyagi.
This is what we need from shows to take unique and interesting perspectives
In the film Karate Kid (1984), Miyagi’s first name is briefly shown on the dog tags attached to the keys to the 1948 Ford that Daniel was given as a birthday present, indicating that Miyagi’s first name is Hideo. Featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Anthony Mackie/Ralph Macchio/Kiry Shabazz (2018). Impressed, captivated, and committed are words that come to mind when it comes to Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai flips the script and gives us a view of Johnny Lawrence, this is really his story.
Cobra Kai captivates us with its great story
He is the one who lost and turns out to be a real person with real flaws. No more one-dimensional ‘Good vs Evil’ story that we have all been told a million times. This mirrors the ‘loser’ from the memorable 1984 film Karate Kid and continues 34 years later. This story and twist makes me think Johnny is an inspiring character who is trying his best to rebuild his life.
High marks for a great show
Johnny is a very down to earth and simple character and uses the hand he was dealt in the best way possible, right, let’s live our lives? In a funny way, we sometimes see arrogance and attitude from Daniel Larusso who was originally a hero.