The Karate Kid/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Original series

Daniel LaRusso

Played by: Ralph Macchio (1984-89)

  • Asskicking Pose: The Crane Technique
  • Brick Break: The ice-breaking scene in Part II
  • Determinator
  • Dented Iron While this movie makes no mistake that Daniel gets beaten and bruised with each fight. He still doesn't back down no matter how many hits are inflicted upon him.
  • Finishing Move: The Crane Technique, the Drum Technique.
  • Forgot About His Powers: Daniel suffers greatly from this trope in Part III, almost to Too Dumb to Live's levels at moments.
    • Although if you bother to pay attention a lot of it is stupidity that started in Part II, so at least it's consistent.
    • Even in the first movie after having his ass kicked by Johnny Daniel starts openly antagonizing him knowing full well Johnny can whip him.
  • Heroic BSOD: During the tournament final in Part III, when Barnes has him so intimidated that he's ready to forfeit the match.
  • I Have the High Ground: Daniel stands on elevated structures while practicing his Finishing Move in both of the first two movies.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Mr. Miyagi, of course.
  • I Surrender, Suckers: Right before giving Chozen a punch in the nuts in Part II.
  • Kung Fu Kid
  • Hachimaki: Given to him by Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid.
  • Put on a Bus: In the fourth movie.
  • Reluctant Warrior
  • Restart At Level One
  • Sword Over Head: At the climax of Part II, when he has Chozen at his mercy and asks him, "Live or die, man."
  • The So-Called Coward: Chozen and his goons repeatedly call Daniel a coward throughout Part II because of his reluctance to fight them. But when a typhoon hits the village, Daniel risks his life to save several villagers, while Chozen cowers in the shelter and refuses to do anything. Sato is so respectively impressed and disgusted with them that he volunteers to help Daniel.
  • Training from Hell: Especially what Terry Silver puts him through in Part III, which is more like torture disguised as training.
  • World of Cardboard Speech: He gives one of these to Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid after having his knee taken out by Bobby.

Mr. Miyagi

Played by: Pat Morita

  • Badass: Kicks at least a couple of asses per movie.
  • Berserk Button: While Miyagi is a calm, nice and even patient man, there are a few things that would set him off.
    • The first is the obvious. Don't say racial slurs or mock him racially. Two Drunken idiots, lost their beer bottles for that via Karate chop.
    • Don't hurt kids, especially Daniel and Julie. Miyagi fought off the Cobra Kai single-handily for ganging up on Daniel too many times. Kreese on top of pushing his first button, by calling him a Slope got humiliated by Miyagi for hurting Johnny. Chosen and his gang also learn it the hard way not to mess with Daniel in front of him. Kreese (again) and Silver make get beat up and covered in paint for their trouble. Two strangers harassing Julie are used as people puppets by Miyagi. Finally Dugan gets his for hurting Julie's boyfriend, Eric.
  • Cool Old Guy
  • Deadpan Snarker: He doesn't speak often, but when he does it's usually this.

Daniel: You think you could break a log like that?
Miyagi: Don't know. Never been attacked by a tree.

Johnny Lawrence

Played by: William Zapka (1984-86)

John Kreese

Played by: Martin Kove (1984-89)

  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
  • Breakout Villain: Technically the only villain to appear in all three movies, although his scene in the second one was actually footage cut from the first.
  • Drill Sergeant Nasty: He's a Vietnam veteran who demands military precision from his students. Lose your focus for one second, and it's sixty push-ups on your knuckles.
  • Evil Counterpart: To Miyagi.
  • Noble Demon: Not by much, but when Miyagi demands that Cobra Kai leaves Daniel alone to train for the tournament. He agrees.
  • Ordered to Cheat: He instructs Bobby to take out Daniel's knee, even though doing so will result in Bobby's disqualification. Then Johnny also uses "unethical" moves that target the injured knee.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: Due to his experience in the Vietnam War, he extends his bigotry to all Asians. Referring to Miyagi as a "Slope" on many occasions.
  • Second Place Is for Losers: "Defeat does not exist in this dojo!"
  • Would Hurt A Child: When Johnny lost, Kreese simply kicked him off the team. When Johnny told him off, Kreese broke his trophy and proceeded to strangle him. Much to the shock of his other students. When Tommy tried to beg him to let Johnny go, Kreese smacked him. It's implied that Kreese would have killed Johnny then and there had Miyagi not intervene. He also implied he would have done much worse to Daniel and Miyagi if they didn't show up at the Tournament.
  • You Have Failed Me: He strangled his top student for earning second place after losing to Daniel.

Sato

Played by: Danny Kamekona (1986)

  • Badass Grandpa
  • Big Bad: Of the second movie.
  • Evil Counterpart: To Miyagi
  • Heel Face Turn: After Miyagi saves his life.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: While initially he hated Miyagi, out of respect for Miyagi's father who taught him Karate, Sato lets Miyagi see him on his death bed. When Miyagi's father demands they come by his side, you can tell Sato is visbly shaken at seeing his mentor dying. Showing that on top of respect, Sato did care about him. The only request he couldn't honor was the Father's dying request to end their feud. However he does allow Miyagi three days to mourn him and attends his funeral. When he sees that Daniel was using the breathing technique to break the sheets of ice, even though he bet against him, he looked impressed that the kid knew so much. After Miyagi saves him from the Typhoon, he demands Chozen to help Daniel save the Bell Girl. When Chozen refuses, Sato goes out there himself. His last act of being a jerk, was to disown Chozen for his cowardice and stubbornness. Which he later regrets. After the Typhoon, he graduates to being a Nice Guy. Apologizing to Miyagi and offering to help rebuild the village and handing the deed to the villagers. When Daniel requested O'Bon dance to be held at the castle, he obliges. When Chozen crashed the party and holds Kumiko hostage, he tries to appeal to him.
  • Murder the Hypotenuse
  • Rival Turned Evil

Chozen

Played by: Yuji Okumoto

  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
  • Death Seeker: Becomes one after Sato disowns him.
  • Honor Before Reason: Played with. Subverted because he thinks being caught cheating and being rightfully shamed by the villagers he cheats out of their hard earned money, is an insult to his honor. Yet played straight during the final fight, where he decides to fight Daniel unarmed in equal combat even though he originally was holding Kumiko at knife point.
  • Jerkass: Which goes to murderous extremes.
  • Throwing Down the Gauntlet: He takes Kumiko hostage and threatens to cut her throat unless Daniel fights him.

Terry Silver

Played by: Thomas Ian Griffith (1989)

  • Chessmaster: Anyone could have easily walked in on Daniel and Miyagi, pretended to be on their side only to manipulate them. With little to no effort. Yet Terry goes the extra mile. He has his tailors get close to make him look poor and humble. He also has his mechanic give him a car to match the look. His plans also have careful precision and choices right down to the time and date he performs them. From spying on Miyagi's home to gain information at night, to appearing to falsely announce Kreese's demise, to "defending" Daniel from Mike Barnes, after secretly sending him after him once before. Even after he reveals himself for what he truly is, Daniel is so shaken by the experience that he was initially too scared to continue fighting.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: He's made millions of dollars as a professional toxic waste dumper.
  • Evil Counterpart: To Miyagi
  • Evil Plan: Of the Vengeance Is Mine! variety, targeting Daniel and Mr. Miyagi for what they did to Kreese in the first movie.
  • Eviler Than Thou: Granted both Kreese and Silver are both nuts, Kreese is the more calmer of the two. Silver on the other hand is not just batshit insane, but incredibly smart and sadistic. What he does to Daniel, makes what Kreese did to Johnny look like a slap on the wrist.
  • I Owe You My Life: A somewhat noble example. Kreese saved Silver's life in Vietnam. So Silver owes him a life debt. It becomes less noble, when he pays Kreese back by helping him torment and challenge Daniel and Miyagi back into the Tournament.
  • Large Ham: Oh so very much.
  • Manipulative Bastard
  • Obviously Evil: In-Universe the man makes a living dumping toxic waste on illegal grounds. As well as form elaborate schemes against a teenager and an old man. Not only that but he has trouble containing his smirk even when he's trying to deceive Daniel and Miyagi into thinking he is nice.
  • Revenge Before Reason: Probably the most over-the-top comical example of the trope. When Silver begins to make his plans, he halts all of his business ventures and focuses all his money and resources into revenge against Daniel and Miyagi.

Terry Silver:For the next few weeks my business is strictly revenge.

Ali

Played by: Elisabeth Shue (1984)

  • The Chick: Elisabeth Shue had played many girl next door type of characters, but this is her most iconic.
  • Disposable Love Interest: Daniel tells Mr. Miyagi at the beginning of Part II that she left him for a football player from UCLA.
  • Plucky Girl
  • Shallow Love Interest: Daniel finds out just how shallow in Part II.
  • Spoiled Sweet: She's a rich girl who's usually nice to everyone, even working-class boys from Reseda. Don't cross her, though, because she's got a pretty mean right hook.
  • Uptown Girl: Her relationship with Daniel is type #3.

Kumiko

Played by: Tamlyn Tomika (1986)

  • Amicable Exes: Daniel and Kumiko become this in contrast to his break up with Ali. Because she managed to achieve her dream to become an international dancer, Daniel is not only happy for her, but they left on good terms.
  • Asian Gal with White Guy: She's surrounded by Asian men she doesn't show the slightest bit of interest in, but as soon as Daniel shows up at the front door... Then again, the other suitor with a chance was Chozen of all people.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: She is very nice to Daniel and Miyagi and the kids she teaches OBon Dance to. However hurt someone she likes and she won't hesitate to hurt you. When Chozen challenges Daniel to a fight to the death, Kumiko tries to strangle him. He punches her, but she was able to pull him a good distance before.
  • The Chick
  • Disposable Love Interest: Daniel mentions in Part III that she chose to take a job with a dance company in Tokyo instead of coming back to the United States with him. He seems less bitter about it than Ali though, possibly because he knew how much she wanted to be a traditional dancer as opposed to just dumping him for another guy, therefore he knows she's following her dream.
  • Plucky Girl: She gets points for trying to help Daniel against Chozen, despite knowing how dangerous it is.
  • Shallow Love Interest
  • Yamato Nadeshiko: Emphasized by her wearing a kimono and being good performing the Japanese tea ceremony.

Jessica Andrews

Played by: Robin Lively (1989)

Julie Pierce

Played by: Hilary Swank (1994)

  • Action Girl: She showed hints of being one in the beginning. Showing that she's capable of evading capture. Later on after an argument with Miyagi, she almost gets hit by a car, causing her to leap into "Tiger Position" landing on the hood. She reveals that her father used to teach her Karate before he died, treating it like a fun game between the two. She finds out that Miyagi taught her Grandfather, who in turn taught her father. After training with Miyagi, she becomes this full on.
  • Kindly Vet: One of the subplots of the movie has her nursing an injured hawk back to health.
  • Kuudere
  • Sugar and Ice Personality
  • Took a Level In Badass: While she already knew some Karate, Miyagi's teachings with the help of the monks made her this way.

Yukie-san

Played by: Nobu McCarthy (1986)

  • Christmas Cake: By her own decision, since she chose to remain a spinster than becoming a prize wife to Sato
  • Mama Bear: A blink if you miss moment, but when Chosen grabs Kumiko as leverage to challenge Daniel to a fight. Yukie is the first to try to run across the bridge and try to grab Kumiko away from him. Had he not threaten to cut Kumiko's throat with a knife, Yukie would have gotten her away.
  • New Old Flame
  • Parental Substitute: To Kumiko, her orphaned niece
  • Shipper on Deck: The morning after She and Miyagi consummate their love during the tea Ceremony, they both watch Daniel and Kumiko drive off. She smiles in approval just seeing them happy together.
  • Yamato Nadeshiko

2010 Revival

See its character page here.

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