Decades after the event that changed their lives, Johnny and Daniel clash again in the sequel to the "Karate Kid" film series.
(Image and introduction from: NETFLIX Cobra Kai Introduction Page)
Even the best person, as long as they work hard, will become the bad guy in someone's story.
【Sister Chie of Cat Temple】
Plot Summary:
The Karate Kid is a movie that took place 35 years ago (1984) (I also watched the rerun when I was very young XD). In it, Daniel, the protagonist who just moved to the school, is bullied by Johnny, a popular figure in the school, and Johnny studies karate in the Cobra Kai dojo. As a result, Daniel meets Mr. Miyagi, a Japanese karate master, and begins a series of training (washing cars, wiping glass, tidying up the flower bed). At first, Daniel was quite angry, why these things would be related to karate. As a result, under the guidance of Mr. Miyagi, these trainings gradually take effect, and finally Daniel defeats the bully Johnny of the time and wins the girl.
(The 1984 Karate Kid trailer)
35 years later... Johnny, the campus heartthrob with blonde hair and blue eyes, has a miserable life after losing to Daniel in the karate championship. He is self-pitying, has a failed marriage, has a son who has lost contact with him, and spends his days in a drunken stupor. One day, he encounters a pitiful immigrant high school student, Miguel, being bullied by hooligans in a convenience store, so he uses his old karate skills to teach the hooligans a lesson. Influenced by Miguel, he begins to reopen the Cobra Kai dojo, wanting to protect these bullied nerds.
In contrast, Daniel has a smooth life after defeating Johnny, opening a car dealership and selling cars. And he uses karate as an advertising campaign to get quite good results. After breaking up with his high school girlfriend, he married a beautiful wife and has a lovely high school daughter, Samantha, and a son. The plot unfolds here.
Surprising Plot Points
I won't spoil the plot for you, but I'll share a few parts that I think are very interesting and well-designed.
Good and Bad Are Not Absolute
As described, the protagonist of this series is the former bully Johnny, not Daniel. And he is also quite pitiful in the story. According to him, after Daniel came, he stole his girlfriend and defeated him in the final, making him a laughingstock in school. His whole life has become quite miserable.
While Daniel is the bad guy in the movie version, he was bullied by Cobra Kai since he was a child. Seeing Johnny reopen the dojo, he overreacts, trying to stop Johnny in every way and attacking him through various means. (484 looks like a bad guy?)
In this series, Johnny wants to turn over a new leaf. He gradually emerges from a life of self-abandonment. And Daniel is a bit unscrupulous in his desire to protect his family.
So it also makes people think: "Even the best person, as long as they work hard, will become the bad guy in someone's story." This line.
Some Similar Coincidences
After the plot develops, Daniel and Johnny each have new disciples, and they meet in the final competition. And both disciples fall in love with the same cute girl (that is, Daniel's daughter Samantha). Many of the series' plots also "pay homage" to many corresponding places in the movie version. In addition to feeling the design ingenuity, it also makes people look back at time and space?
National Girlfriend - Elisabeth Shue
At this time, it was discovered that the important character from 35 years ago, the female lead who the two male leads were vying for, was also the national girlfriend Elisabeth Shue. Not only did she star in The Karate Kid as the female lead, but she was also the female lead in the Back to the Future series. Of course, what I understand more recently is that she also starred in CSI.
Nostalgic Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita)
Pat Morita is the mysterious Japanese Mr. Miyagi in the series of films, and he also spoke many wise words in the film.
"Losing to your opponent, it's okay. Losing to fear, it's not okay."
I was curious about what happened to Mr. Miyagi, and there is also an episode dedicated to him. He (the actor) passed away in 2005.
Conclusion
A work full of memories, but there are many story layouts that are carefully crafted. It turns the original bad guy Johnny into the protagonist and deeply describes his inner changes. It also constantly looks at things from Johnny's perspective. Many bullying in his heart may be just a small thing, but being defeated by the protagonist Daniel and stealing his girlfriend, he can't forget it. It really echoes ~ "Even the best person, as long as they work hard, will become the bad guy in someone's story."
Top comments (0)