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Avildsen shot hours of footage of the tournament from multiple angles

Narrative

Decades after their 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament match, a middle-aged Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence find themselves once again as martial arts rivals. During the filming of the original Karate Kid, the late director John G. The team behind Cobra Kai dug through the studio vault and found a ton of previously unseen footage that they were able to insert into the series through flashbacks. One of them features Zabka’s mother in the stands at various angles that remained unseen until 2018.

Ralph Macchio told Uproxx that there are three brand-new angles of 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 Keisuke, but it was actually previously shown on a sign that Chozen was holding in Karate Kid 2 (1986) to be Nariyoshi. This means that The Next Karate Kid was the one who changed his name, while Cobra Kai kept the name previously given to him. Another interesting fact, however, is that the name given in The Karate Kid Part II was not his original given name. Miyagi.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Anthony Mackie/Ralph Macchio/Kiry Shabazz (2018)

In Karate Kid (1984), it can be briefly seen on Miyagi’s tags attached to the keys to the 1948 Ford given to Daniel for his birthday that Miyagi’s first name is Hideo. Impressed, captivated, and committed are words that come to mind for Cobra Kai. That’s what we need from shows, to take unique and interesting angles. Cobra Kai flips the script and gives us the perspective of Johnny Lawrence, this is really his story.

Cobra Kai intrigues us with its grand narrative

He’s the one who lost and turns out to be a real person with very real flaws. No more ‘Good vs Evil’ story that we’ve all been told a million times. This one mirrors the feelings of the ‘loser’ of the memorable 1984 film Karate Kid and picks up 34 years later. Because of this narrative and spin, I find Johnny to be an inspirational figure, trying his best to rebuild his life.

Top marks for a great show

Johnny is a very down to earth and simple character and makes the most of the hand he’s been dealt, isn’t that how we live our lives? In a funny way, we see the arrogance and attitude at times of Daniel Larusso, who was originally the hero.