Cobra Kai is an American martial arts comedy-drama TV show which is based on the film The Karate Kid. The series has three seasons. 34 years after the All-Valley Karate Tournament, Johnny Lawrence who is 50 now, works as a part-time handyman, opens the infamous Cobra Kai dojo again which reignites his rivalry with Daniel LaRusso.
After he loses his job, Johnny teaches karate to his teenage neighbor Miguel Diaz so he can defend himself from a gang of bullies. Johnny puts in efforts to reform Cobra Kai however Kreese decides that it should be back in its old form.
While Robby Keene, Johnny’s son whom he had abandoned when he was born, starts working for Daniel LaRusso at his auto dealership and becomes closer to Daniel. Daniel unaware that he is Jonny’s child teaches Robby, Mr. Miyagi’s form of karate. He befriends Daniel’s daughter, Samantha LaRusso who was dating Miguel. After Samantha and Miguel break up, Tory joins Cobra Kai and starts dating Miguel, becoming Samantha LaRusso’s rival. The story revolves around these people and their relationships which leads to conflicts that ultimately make it difficult for Daniel and Johnny to move away from the past.
Cast
The cast of Cobra Kai is a little long since new characters were introduced in the middle of the season and now the show has reached three seasons so many new characters have joined in. As for Johnny Lawrence, it was played by William Zabka who was also the main star in the 1984 film, The Karate Kid. Ralph Macchio portrayed the successful, happy man, Daniel LaRusso who defeated his high school rivalry, Johnny in an All-Valley Karate Tournament 1984 and won the championship. Amanda LaRusso, Daniel’s wife and co-owner of the LaRusso Auto dealership was played by Courtney Henggeler. Miguel, the bullied kid who was also Lawrence’s neighbor was acted by Xolo Maridueña. Robby who was abandoned by his father was played by Tanner Buchanan. Samantha (Mary Mouser) was Daniel’s first kid and was dating Miguel in the first season before the introduction of Tory which was portrayed by Peyton List who was Samantha’s rival from the start. Eli (Miguels Friend) who was bullied in school was played by Jacob Bertrand who was also known as “Hawk”. Demetri who was also Miguel’s friend and was bullied in school was played by Gianni DeCenzo who was a recurring character in season 1 too. John Kreese was played by Martin Kove who was Johnny Lawrence’s mentor in the past and was a guest in season 1 but was present in seasons 2 and 3. There are other recurring characters like Miguel’s mom Carmen (Vanessa Rubio) and Aisha, Samantha’s friend (Nichole Brown) who did not appear in season 3. Miguel’s grandmother Rosa (Rose Bianco) was also a recurring character throughout the show and Robby’s mother and Johnny’s ex-wife, Shannon Keene (Diora Baird).
Where does the show take place?
The country of origin is the United States of America and the episodes were shot in Los Angeles, California, and Atlanta, Georgia. Some of the scenes were also shot in Japan, Okinawa which was the birthplace of Mr. Miyagi. The Cobra Kai dojo is in Atlanta, Georgia.
Cobra Kai vs The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid was a movie that came out in 1984 which showed a young Daniel who slowly becomes a champion of karate, even defeating Johnny while the Cobra Kai shows both of them all grown up, Johnny trying to reform Cobra Kai dojo. It can be said that the series shows the future of the characters present in the movie.
Age rating
The show has violence and fighting throughout the seasons and there is a little bit of foul language here and there which is not suitable for an audience under 13. It might trigger memories or kids may get involved in violence. Preferably your kid should be 13+ to watch it. If the show is affecting your kid in any way then they should not watch it. There isn’t any mature content but it does contain unsuitable language.
Reviews
The audience is said to have enjoyed the show therefore many do recommend it to others. The show gained rapid viewers and has made many people Karate fans. All the karate fans have seemed to enjoy it and it reached the top 10 shows on Netflix after season 3 came out. It has a rating of 94% on rotten tomatoes and 8.7 out of 10 on IMDb. Almost 97% of the viewers liked the series. Season 3 turned out to be pretty exciting since Miguel stood up back on his legs again and started training. Johnny opens a new dojo separate from his old dojo that is taken over by his mentor, John Kreese. He has a hard time attracting students but he eventually does get some new students including Miguel. Johnny finally reunites with his high school girlfriend, Ali Mills who is now divorced with two kids. Johnny and Daniel merge dojos to defeat Kreese and close Cobra Kai for good. Many viewers described the show as a masterpiece with an amazing storyline that blows your mind away and keeps you hooked and excited throughout.
The show turned out to be a success and there is a high expectation of a 4th season with some new characters. All the show’s fans are excited to see what will happen once there’s one dojo against two and what happens to Daniel and Johnny’s rivalry that brought them this far. People who have watched the movie loved the fact that the makers of the show brought the karate content to their screens.
If you liked this show, you should watch the film too. It is perfect for all those karate fans out there who are looking for more content related to karate to watch. You can watch it with friends and family too especially during a holiday like Thanksgiving and Christmas when everyone is home.
Even people who are not karate fans will enjoy watching the show as it has many aspects to it such as friendship, romantic relationships, and the rivalry between characters which makes it worth the watch. You can watch it on Netflix as all three seasons are available there so if you plan to binge-watch it you do not have to worry about going around looking for all the episodes of all 3 seasons.
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