Miyagi.” One thing that really comes across is that Morita was not only important to fans of his work, but also to his colleagues.Īlvarez believes there is still so much people don’t know about Japanese-American actor. Miyagi.”Ĭoming off the heels of the Cobra Kai release on Netflix, Karate Kid actors including Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, Happy Days stars like Henry Winkler and Marion Ross, and other celebrities including Tommy Chong, Larry Miller and Esai Morales tell their personal stories about Morita - the man known to millions as “Mr. “I would say the manuscript was the blueprint of everything and that's what got us excited, especially because he had talked about his early years and that's the stuff that you don't know, pre-Mr. “There some really dark things,” the film’s producer Oscar Alvarez told Yahoo Canada. Rewind is an Inverse series that remembers the forgotten performances we love.A manuscript written by the late Karate Kid star Pat Morita, sharing his life story in his own words, was the catalyst of an inspiring but heartbreaking documentary More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story. Karate Kid II was a mediocre movie, but Cobra Kai has made it feel downright depressing. If there’s even a hint of a step forward in character growth, it’s usually two steps back a few minutes later. Most of the original characters don’t seem to have grown or learned anything. It’s ‘80s nostalgia, but it’s become toxic nostalgia. I binged the entire Cobra Kai series in three days. This usually happens when a series starts dragging out every minor character that’s ever appeared in the franchise to give them a whole story - regardless of whether the audience even remembers or cares about those characters in the first place. But it’s annoying when the show feels it can’t move on from the old days. He was a cipher in the movie, and he’s a cipher on Cobra Kai.Ĭobra Kai is pure nostalgia, and that's okay. Chozen is an obvious allegory for “people deserve a second chance,” but we don’t know anything about how this change came about. Anyone who’s seen Karate Kid III knows Kumiko became a dancer, and it’s reiterated on the show. We don’t learn anything fundamentally new about their characters either. And it seems like a waste to bring them on for what is essentially a glorified cameo. Naturally, Miyagi instantly falls back in love with her.īoth Tamlyn Tomita and Yuji Okumoto are accomplished actors. Miyagi and Daniel arrive in the village and reunite with Miyagi’s love, Yukie. Message to screenwriters: more tragedy doesn't automatically mean a better story. His beloved wife died in childbirth with their infant son in a Japanese internment camp while Miyagi was overseas fighting in World War II. Miyagi’s backstory in the first movie was already tragic enough. Things got really awkward, and Miyagi had to skip town.Īt this point, it feels like Karate Kid II is just piling on the misery. Sato and his family got pissed off when Miyagi announced his wish to marry the fiancee. That friend, Sato, was also trained in karate by Miyagi’s dying father. Turns out, Miyagi was forced to leave his village because he was in love with the girl betrothed to his rich best friend. On the way there, Miyagi expands on his already tragic backstory with even more depressing details about his past. His elderly father is dying, so Miyagi and Daniel head to Japan. Miyagi gets a letter from his hometown in Okinawa. Karate Kid II picks up just minutes after the first movie’s ending when Daniel wins the All Valley karate tournament.
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