The Karate Kid/Characters

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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
• 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
• Martial Arts Headband: 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.
  • Badass Grandpa
  • Retired Badass: A martial artist and a war veteran.
• 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.

• Eccentric Mentor
• Martial Pacifist
• Obfuscating Stupidity
• Old Master
• Trickster Mentor

Johnny

Played by: William Zapka (1984-86)

• Beauty Is Bad
• Defeat Means Friendship: Though he doesn't appear again after he gets berated by Kreese for losing at the beginning of Part II.
• Jerk Jock

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.
• 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.
• Second Place Is for Losers: "Defeat does not exist in this dojo!"

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.
• Murder the Hypotenuse
• Rival Turned Evil

Chozen

Played by: Yuji Okumoto

• Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
• Death Seeker: Becomes one after Sato disowns him.
• 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)

• 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.
• Large Ham: Oh so very much.
• Manipulative Bastard
• Smug Snake: At the end of the movie.
• Villain With Good Publicity

Ali

Played by: Elisabeth Shue (1984)

• The Chick
• 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)

• 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.
• 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)

• The Chick
• Disposable Love Interest: Exaggerated. The writers don't even wait for the sequel to dispose of her.
• Girl Next Door: She's fairly cute, rather tomboyish, and works at a pottery store across the street from Miyagi and Daniel's bonsai store.
• May-December Romance: Even though their characters were about the same age in the movie, actress Robyn Lively was 11 years younger than Ralph Macchio in real life, and it showed.
• Put On a Bus: She goes back home to Ohio midway through the movie, and is never seen or mentioned again. Probably because the producers realized the aforementioned May-December Romance just wasn't working.
• Shallow Love Interest

Julie Pierce

Played by: Hilary Swank (1994)

• Action Girl: Eventually
• Kindly Vet: One of the subplots of the movie has her nursing an injured hawk back to health.
• Kuudere
• Sugar and Ice Personality

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
• New Old Flame
• Parental Substitute: To Kumiko, her orphaned niece
• Yamato Nadeshiko

2010 Revival

Andre "Dre" Parker

Played by: Jaden Smith

• All of the Other Reindeer
• Badass Adorable: It doesn't even look like he's gone into puberty yet.
• Constantly Curious: Mr. Han is annoyed because of all of Dre's questions.
• Determinator
• Disappeared Dad
• Finishing Move
• Fish Out of Water
• Fragile Speedster: He tells Mr. Han that he thinks himself one of these, since he can run really fast. True, but once Mr. Han's through with him, he becomes a Lightning Bruiser in terms of kung fu tournaments. Took a Level In Badass indeed.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language: His Chinese is rather poor...
• Intergenerational Friendship
• Kung Fu Kid
• Mouthy Kid
• New Transfer Student: He moves to China.
• Phrase Catcher: "Pick up your jacket!"
• Sleep Cute: Towards his mom on the plane ride to China, and with Mr. Han on a train during his training.
• Took a Level In Badass: He starts off the movie getting pushed around by a group of bullies. In the end, he beats them fair and square in a kung fu tournament.
• What the Fu Are You Doing: He doesn't really know kung fu until Mr. Han gets through with him.

Mr. Han

Played by: Jackie Chan

• Chekhov's Skill: Fire cupping
• Cool Old Guy
• Dark and Troubled Past
• Deadly Dodging
• Intergenerational Friendship
• Meaningful Name: Mr Han. "Han" is the name of the ethnicity that makes up the majority of China, so it's sort of like calling him "Mr Chinese Man".
• Parental Substitute

Cheng

Played by: Zhengwei Wang

• Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
• The Bully
• Death Glare: Is fond of using it.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Sort of.
  • More like Defeat Means Respect
• Kids Are Cruel
• Serious Business
• Smug Snake

Master Li

Played by: Yu Rongguang

• Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
• Defeat Means Friendship: Sort of.
• Finish Him
• Kick Them While They Are Down
• Serious Business

Mei Ying

Played by: Wen Wen Han

• Puppy Love: In-universe.