Karate Kid Franchise Perspective

TRAILER:

DISCLAIMER: This isn’t your average review. This is more of a sarcastic, confused, mildly annoyed breakdown from someone who just doesn’t get the hype. I didn’t watch every episode of Cobra Kai, but I watched enough to ask, “What is this franchise even doing anymore?” I’ve seen the movies. I’ve seen the reboot. I’ve seen the show. And I’ve seen enough. Welcome to the dojo of confusion.

FRANCHISE ORIGINS (Non-Spoiler Rundown): The story kicks off with Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), a teenager who moves to a new town and gets bullied by a gang of blond karate kids trained by John Kreese (Martin Kove), a war vet running Cobra Kai dojo. Daniel gets help from his apartment’s maintenance man, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), who teaches him karate through unorthodox chores. Every movie and show after this keeps going, “Remember Miyagi? Good. Let’s beat that nostalgia drum again.”

Here’s the basic premise of each entry:

The Karate Kid (1984): Daniel moves, gets bullied, meets Miyagi, learns karate via house chores, enters tournament.
The Karate Kid Part II (1986): Daniel and Miyagi go to Okinawa. Family drama. Drum technique. More karate.
The Karate Kid Part III (1989): Evil rich guy wants revenge. Daniel turns emo. Bonsai tree drama.
The Next Karate Kid (1994): Miyagi trains Julie Pierce (Hilary Swank). No Daniel. Still bullies. Still karate.
The Karate Kid (2010): Jaden Smith moves to China. Jackie Chan teaches him kung fu (not karate) through jacket flipping. Fans hated this because “IT’S NOT KARATE.”
Cobra Kai (2018–2024): Johnny (William Zabka) reopens Cobra Kai, Daniel is a car salesman who still talks about Miyagi like he was a god. Teen drama. Adults acting like teens. Endless dojo wars. Every issue solved with fights.
The Karate Kid: Legends (2025): Mashes together the old and reboot timelines. Jackie Chan returns. Somehow, Miyagi trained kung fu too? What?

CAST AND CHARACTERS (Selected Breakdown):

Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio): The OG Karate Kid. Still living off one tournament win from the 80s.
Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka): Former bully. Now a lovable underdog. Runs his own dojo. Gets hit in the head a lot.
Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita): Vague wisdom dispenser. Trained Daniel. Trained Julie. Apparently trained every wise choice ever made in this universe.
Julie Pierce (Hilary Swank): The next Karate Kid. Same formula. Different coast.
John Kreese (Martin Kove): The psycho war vet turned dojo master. Lives to scream at children.
Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith): Rich lunatic. Loves ponytails and revenge.
Chosen (Yuji Okumoto): Former rival. Now mentor. Reformed dude with a sense of humor.
Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña): Cobra Kai student. Kind heart. Good fighter.
Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan): Johnny’s estranged son. Flips sides more than a coin.
Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser): Daniel’s daughter. Loves drama. Kicks.
Eli/Hawk (Jacob Bertrand): Nerd-turned-hawk-turned-back-to-nerd. Iconic mohawk.
Kenny Payne (Dallas Dupree Young): Cobra Kai’s newer recruit. Fast rise, fast punches.
Mr. Han (Jackie Chan): 2010 reboot’s Miyagi stand-in. Trains Dre in kung fu. Not related to anything else. Or… is he now?

THE MIYAGI MADNESS RANT Let’s talk about the most exhausting part of this franchise: The Church of Miyagi. At this point, it’s borderline religion. The Cobra Kai kids can’t seem to think for themselves because every 10 minutes it’s: “What would Mr. Miyagi do?” or “Remember when Miyagi said…?” Jeepers. Can you people function without quoting the man like he’s a biblical prophet?

And the show treats his dojo like sacred ground. I’ve actually been to a real dojo—my late uncle Clark was a red belt Judo master in Boston. That dojo had plaques and lessons passed down by generations of real mentors. You know what it didn’t have? A shrine to one Kook and his cryptic fortune cookie phrases. Cobra Kai dojo is one step away from establishing the Church of Miyagi-ism.

It’s not a dojo anymore—it’s a cult with belts.
Like at this point, I wouldn’t be shocked if they build a shrine, light some incense, and chant,

“Wax on… wax off… wax eternal…”

Also, we need to talk about this confusing timeline. The new Karate Kid: Legends movie smashes the reboot and the originals together. Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han is back and has a photo of Mr. Miyagi? Are we seriously supposed to believe Miyagi trained both karate and kung fu—and passed it down to two completely unrelated kids in two countries? WHO EVEN IS THIS MAN?

And now the gimmick is: “Let’s combine karate AND kung fu!” Oh, so we’re just doubling down on the nonsense now? The 2010 reboot already did kung fu and people hated it for a reason. This franchise is being held together by the duct tape of nostalgia and Miyagi’s ghost.

Villains and Bullies: Cobra Kai’s Cartoon Chaos
If you thought the villains in The Karate Kid movies were a little over-the-top, Cobra Kai said, “Hold my dojo.” This show treats bullies like they’re auditioning for the live-action remake of Looney Tunes. Every antagonist is turned up to 11, as if the writers are scared we won’t get who the bad guys are unless they physically snarl and commit felony-level violence in public schools with zero consequences.

And let’s talk about John Kreese (Martin Kove)—the OG villain back from the dead. He’s no longer just a disgraced sensei; he’s basically Emperor Palpatine now. Bro manipulates teenagers like chess pieces, throws punches like a WWE wrestler, and acts like he’s fighting a secret war for the soul of the valley. But even he isn’t the most exaggerated villain.

That crown goes to Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith)—the ponytail-swinging, maniacally grinning billionaire from Season 4. Also this guy use to be high on cocaine and now is spiraling back down into madness thanks to Kreese.

But even before him, in Season 2, we got one of the most absurd additions to the bully roster: Hawk (Jacob Bertrand) as a full-blown schoolyard warlord. This kid goes from insecure nerd to tattooed sociopath faster than you can say “Cobra Kai never dies.” His transformation is so cartoonish it borders on parody—like he watched Mad Max once and decided violence was his whole thing now.

Oh, and let’s not forget the “evil dojo” trope, which the franchise loves milking dry. The show keeps cranking out new evil senseis and rival karate gangs like it’s Power Rangers. Everyone’s fighting everyone, and half the villains have motivational backstories that make no sense—just vibes and vengeance.

Bottom line: the villains in Cobra Kai aren’t just bullies… they’re walking, talking comic book panels. Overacted, overexaggerated, and operating in a lawless world where teenaged assault is just another Tuesday.

Johnny Lawrence: King of the Himbo Dojo

Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) is the kind of man who drinks Coors Banquet like it’s a personality trait and probably thinks “streaming” is just what water does. He is, without question, a Grade-A certified himbo. But you know what? He owns it.

This is a guy who tries to Google “how to be a better sensei” and ends up watching a YouTube video titled “What Is the Internet?” He thinks tofu is a type of martial art, still calls women “babes,” and somehow—somehow—this man is allowed to mentor children. Legally. With no training. In a strip mall.

Heck, he sometimes will show up places he’s not meant to be and talk to girls like hey what’s up babe. Dude get a hobby.

But underneath that feathered hair and macho one-liners is a dude who really just wants to matter again. He’s broken, awkward, and emotionally constipated—but also deeply loyal, weirdly insightful, and way more self-aware than he lets on (even if he’d never admit it).

He’s a walking PSA for why head trauma and childhood bullying shouldn’t be ignored, but also… he’s trying. And watching this guy stumble through modern life like a boomer Indiana Jones is honestly one of the most endearing parts of the show.

Johnny may be stuck in the 1980s—but damned if he doesn’t punch his way into your heart anyway.

The Melodrama & The Adults Who Should Know Better
Let’s just rip the band-aid off: Cobra Kai is one of the most melodramatic shows on television — and not in a charming telenovela kind of way. No, this is soap opera-level drama with roundhouse kicks. Everyone is either emotionally stunted, stuck in high school, or somehow both. These are grown adults — with mortgages and car payments — who are still screaming about things that happened in the 1980s like the trauma fairy hit them with a steel chair and never left.

And the worst part? These adults are terrible role models. They teach impressionable teens that the solution to literally everything is to karate someone into a jukebox. Disagreements? Fight. Misunderstanding? Fight. Weird look across the lunchroom? Full-scale dojo war.

It’s no wonder the kids in this universe are all emotionally volatile — they’re just mirroring their senseis who treat every minor inconvenience like it’s the All Valley finals. Honestly, by Season 3, I started rooting for child protective services to enter the dojo and say, “You know what? Everyone take a seat. No more kicking. Group therapy. Now.”

This franchise has lost it, it’s become Fast And Furious at this point, logic and physics been gone. I mean for example by season 5 Cobra Kai is being run by a guy in an eye patch who brings in evil leaders, for example he brings in a woman who comes in to best up kids just to say.

“Is that pain u feel? Pain isn’t a thing here” the fuck is going on? These are kids! What are u teaching them?! Where’s the parents? Better yet where’s any adults?

WHY THIS FRANCHISE FEELS STALE Look, how many times can you watch two kids kick each other in a ring before it all starts to feel like a rerun? Every generation just repeats the same “good dojo vs. bad dojo” story. But now it’s even worse—because literally everything in this universe is solved with a fight:

You chewed popcorn too loud? FIGHT.
You walked with an elderly woman? FIGHT.
You looked in my general direction? TOURNAMENT.

There’s no law, no police, no common sense. Just public brawls in restaurants, theaters, and cafeterias. I’m convinced the only law enforcement in the Karate Kid universe is a referee.

And seriously—why is this still popular? The Mighty Ducks pulled off the “underdog sports kids” gimmick better and moved on. Karate Kid just keeps dragging the same bones around the arena. It’s tired. It’s stale. And at this point, it’s trying to prop itself up by combining timelines, reusing characters, and clinging to Miyagi like he’s the crutch of a broken leg.

FINAL THOUGHTS: If you still love it, more power to you. But from where I’m standing, this franchise needs to bow out gracefully before it becomes Cobra Kai in Space.

RATING: 🥋🥋/10 (That’s two black belts. One for effort, one for nostalgia. No more.)

This one goes out to my Uncle Clark, I thought of him while writing this review because he was a Judo Master, may multiple generations learn from ur teachings.