Cobra Kai: The Complete Series Blu Ray Review (Sony)

Cobra Kai is a 2018 Martial Arts Television Series executive produced/directed/co-written/created by Josh Heald (Obliterated, Hot Tub Time Machine franchise, and Mardi Gras: Spring Break), Jon Hurwitz (Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, American Reunion, and Obliterated), and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Obliterated, and American Reunion). It was directed by Joel Novoa (Arrow, God’s Slave, and Tracker), Steve Pink (Accepted, About Last Night, and Hot Tub Time Machine 2), Jennifer Celotta (The Office, The Paper, and Abbott Elementary), Steven Tsuchida (In the Dark, Younger, and The Jim Gaffigan Show), Sherwin Shilati (Lucifer and Manifest), Marielle Woods (Kung Fu), Ralph Macchio (Love Thy Brother), William Zabka (Rascal Flatts: Why Wait), and others. It was executive produced by William Zabka (Never a Neverland, White Wanderer (n.) Mzungu, and Most), Ralph Macchio (American Gypsies, Karate Kid: Legends, The Ties That Bind, and Across Grace Alley), and James Lassiter (Bad Boys franchise, The Karate Kid, Hancock, Hitch, This Means War, I Am Legend, Showtime, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Seven Pounds). It follows 1984’s The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part II, and The Karate Kid Part III. It was followed by 2025’s Karate Kid: Legends. It originally premiered on YouTube Red for the first two seasons then it was picked up by Netflix for the rest of the series!!!! Bitter enemies with their own Warring dojos causes chaos in their local community. Several kids decide to give karate a shot but which sensei will they choose? A new blood feud is started between the two experienced karate fighters Daniel LaRusso (played by: Ralph Macchio from the Karate Kid franchise, My Cousin Vinny, The Outsiders, The Deuce, Hitchcock, Ugly Betty, and Crossroads) and Johnny Lawrence (played by: William Zabka from the Karate Kid franchise, Hot Tub Time Machine, Back to School, How I Met Your Mother, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Python franchise, and Just One of the Guys) that resurrect their old West Valley rivalries after their original battles during the 80’s for The Karate Kid!!!! When they originally announced Cobra Kai, I was a little skeptical because it’s been a long time since these characters have been around. I was curious how they would adapt these 80’s icons in the modern day but they made it work effortlessly. The creative team includes Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg were all known for comedy at the time this was developed. They managed to mix nostalgia, action, dark humor, drama, martial arts, drama, family, romance, and suspense into Cobra Kai. It’s one of the biggest surprises of all time when it comes to reboots, they elevated everything when it comes to this classic universe. The original season was damn near perfection, I absolutely loved how they flipped the main characters. Johnny Lawrence was always the bad guy but the audience seen all kinds of potential in him at the end of the movie franchise when he started to change. Daniel LaRusso was the ultimate underdog and an inspiration to a whole generation. He proved that you could do anything if you really put your heart into it. As the Karate Kid world went on, he became a little more cocky and darker from his previous success. These traits were only really teased during the original films but they all show up here completely which makes things interesting between the two rivals. Johnny is just a handyman trying to survive but he’s still stuck on his past glory which motivates him to bring back Cobra Kai. He’s in full antihero mode in this, you just root for him because he’s had nothing but bad luck. Daniel is successful business man that has his own car dealership. He’s mainly got away from his fighting history besides maybe it helping a little with a sale or some promotion to increase his company while selling expensive vehicles. He kinda comes off as a douchebag at first. He doesn’t seem like the same person as before. When Johnny gets back into the Karate scene, this makes Daniel want to compete again with his former villain. The scripts are top notch for the most part for Cobra Kai. It just captures everything that you would want and expect from The Karate Kid universe. It can get a little corny or over the top at times but it just fits. William Zabka steals the show as the struggling Johnny Lawrence. He just wants a fresh start and a real chance at a good life. He has his moments where his old bad ways start to appear but he’s able to get past them. He brings his own unique fighting style back to his promising students. He helps bring back Cobra Kai which causes so many problems for him later on. It’s a brave, organic, and redeeming performance from someone that’s been type casted his whole life as a bad guy. Zabka really impressed me with his growth as Johnny Lawrence in Cobra Kai. Ralph Macchio eases right back into his iconic Daniel LaRusso role for this television series follow up. He’s now married and he has 2 kids. He still pays respect and acknowledges Mr. Miyagi but he’s moved on from that earlier existence. He’s more focused on his car dealership and he wants to be successful at that. He kinda comes off as a cocky bully when we are first re-introduced to Daniel. He gets inspired when he sees his old enemy Johnny Lawrence get back into karate. This sets up a highly entertaining beef between them. Daniel LaRusso goes through so much during Cobra Kai. He has some amazing character development during it’s run. The chemistry between William Zabka and Ralph Macchio is what drives this action packed TV show. It’s chaotic and it switches up on the viewer several times. They go from rivals to friends all the time so it makes their dynamic unpredictable. Xolo Maridueña (Blue Beetle, Sakamoto Days, Smurfs, and Parenthood) is excellent as Miguel Diaz. He’s the main student for Johnny Lawrence. They become very close. Johnny hooks up with his mother and it makes them a family real fast but they still have plenty of issues during their intense relationship. Johnny is trying to make up for the mistakes that he made with his own son here. Miguel is a good guy but he still has own dark side. Tanner Buchanan (Designated Survivor, He’s All That, Girl Meets World, and Fuller House) shows up as the complicated Robby Keene. He’s the legit son of Johnny Lawrence and he doesn’t like his father at all because of their troubled history. He makes it his goal to give Cobra Kai problems because they are affiliated with him. This gives Daniel LaRusso a chance to give more revenge on Johnny when their lives collide once again. Tanner is impressive as the rebel that wants to remind his father of what he did and he teases him with his own martial arts skills. This basically creates a brand new Karate Kid complete between both Miguel Diaz and Robby Keene with the originals training them to win the cherished karate championship. Martin Kove (The Karate Kid franchise, Death Race 2000, The Last House on the Left, and Rambo: First Blood Part II) is back as the sadistic John Kreese. He’s the real villain here and that’s no surprise at all. He’s amazing as the mean spirited sensai. He hasn’t changed much since the earlier features, he’s still the same bad guy as before. I loved that they showed more of his backstory in this. It dived deeper into his relationships with several major characters from this universe. They even make you feel a little bad for him every once in awhile but he always redeems himself as a bastard. He’s one of the roles that really took advantage of this new found popularity and it fully develops the mysterious bully. Thomas Ian Griffith (The Karate Kid Part III, Vampires, xXx, and Excessive Force) is phenomenal as the evil Terry Silver. I’ve covered The Karate Kid Part III in the past and I’ll repeat myself here, this is one of the most underappreciated villains of all time. Thomas Ian Griffith is so unlikable that he manages to make John Kreese look like a good guy which is hard to do. He uses his power, influence, and money for all of the wrong reasons. He’s greedy and he can’t accept defeat so he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win. This makes him beyond dangerous, he can still hold his own when it comes to martial arts. Out of all of the classic returning roles during the entire Cobra Kai run from 2018 to 2026, this was my personal favorite. Mary Mouser (NCIS) as Samantha LaRusso versus Peyton List (Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman) as Tory Nichols was another fun competition between the students in this. Samantha is the daughter of Daniel that never wanted to get into karate at first and Tory is the girl that’s going through all kinds of stuff for her personal life so she takes her frustrations out with training. These two are involved with all kinds of love triangles here. They are always fighting over someone and they really hate each other for the longest time. They both end up very skilled when it comes to fighting so their wars get even more brutal. Honorable mentions to Yuji Okumoto (The Karate Kid Part II, Real Genius, Better Off Dead, and Mean Guns), Paul Walter Hauser (The Fantastic Four: First Steps), Courtney Henggeler (The Big Bang Theory), Vanessa Rubio (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Jacob Bertrand (Batwheels), Gianni DeCenzo (100 Things to Do Before High School), Owen Morgan (Stranger Things), Aedin Mincks (Ted), Griffin Santopietro (Terrifier 2), Dallas Dupree Young (Shameless), Khalil Everage (Beats), Joe Seo (Vacation), and Hannah Kepple (Creepshow) for all of their standout portrayals for Cobra Kai. The rest of the supporting cast includes Jayden Rivers, Nathaniel Oh, Elisabeth Shue (The Karate Kid), Tamlyn Tomita (The Karate Kid Part II), Ron Thomas (The Karate Kid), Rob Garrison (The Karate Kid), Randee Heller (The Karate Kid), Tony O’Dell (The Karate Kid), Sean Kanan (The Karate Kid Part III), Robyn Lively (The Karate Kid Part III), Edward Asner (Elf), C.S. Lee (Dexter), Britt Baker (AEW), Diora Baird (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning), Lewis Tan (Mortal Kombat), Kim Fields.(Living Single), Elizabeth Berkley (Saved by the Bell), Carrie Underwood (How I Met Your Mother), Dee Snider (Strangeland), Rose Bianco (Doom Patrol), Oona O’Brien (Sky High), Nichole Brown (Raven’s Home), Annalisa Cochrane (The Night Stalker), Bret Ernst (Weeds), Dan Ahdoot (Kickin’ It), Alicia Hannah-Kim (Two and a Half Men), Carsten Norgaard (Alien vs. Predator), Tyron Woodley (Escape Plan 2: Hades), Donald Cerrone (UFC), and Patrick Luwis (Rebel Moon). Cobra Kai brings back a good amount of characters from the original franchise so it’s great to see so many make cameos here. The soundtrack often pays tribute to the 80’s with legendary songs from when these were being made back in the day. It just adds to it’s unique atmosphere. I wasn’t expecting Cobra Kai to be so funny but it has plenty of comedy. The fight choreography is on it’s own level and it has some fierce combat moments especially during the tournaments. It’s a fun throwback to all of the martial arts and fighting movies that were taking over cinemas in their prime. I thought it was awesome that they included all kinds of rare and unreleased footage from the original features for this television sequel. Cobra Kai honestly has a little bit of everything for everyone so it could be enjoyed even if you are into karate. It’s currently streaming on Netflix if you have never seen it before or you just want to revisit it again. Any fans of The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai world really should consider adding this to the collection because it has additional extras that make it worth it, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and list the special features from Sony Pictures! These 1080p (1.78:1) transfers for all 6 seasons look excellent on home video for their Blu Ray debuts. Cobra Kai originally was only available on DVD for the longest time but it’s been finally upgraded to HD and it’s the best it’s ever looked. The original 2 seasons from the YouTube Red days obviously had a smaller budget compared to the last 4 on Netflix but they still hold up to this day. It has stylish cinematography, sharp production design, beautiful locations, and captivating fight scenes when it comes to the visuals. It has English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on all 65 episodes on this 13 disc set. There’s a few issues with some of the Spanish translation here but nothing to go wild about. There’s loads of action, fights, and violence so it definitely elevates the audio for Cobra Kai. The classic 80’s soundtrack adds a big punch to the sound of this television series. All of the dialogue is crisp, the rivalry is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. Season 1 has an “Audio Commentary” on the pilot episode with show creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. It has almost 3 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” which includes Karate’s a Joke and Karate Legend. It has a little over 13 minutes of “Musical Featurettes” which includes Exploring the Musical Identities of Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do with Composers Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson, “Hallway Hellscape” by Birenberg and Robinson, “Ace Degenerate” (Johnny’s Theme) by Birenberg, Robinson, and William Zabka. It has the almost 5 minute “Chemistry Reads with the Cast” featuring Ralph Macchio, Mary Mouser, and Xolo Maridueña. Season 2 has almost 3 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” which includes Anoush, Copy That, Jimmy’s Car, and Kreese and Stingray. It has the almost 6 minute “Easter Eggs” with Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. It has the almost 7 minute “Fists and Fury: Fight Choreography” with the cast and crew. It has the little over 9 minute “Into the Dojo: The Characters”. It has an almost 9 minute “Gag Reel”. It has a little over a minute “Making Faces Reel”. It has the almost 3 minute “Stingray Reel”. Season 3 has almost 9 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” which includes Back to Normal, Start your Engines, Summer’s Over, and Face Off. It has the almost 5 minute “Blooper Reel”. Season 4 has almost 10 minutes of “Deleted and Extended Scenes” which includes Another All Valley In the Books, Evil’s Gonna Win, I’ve Got This, Is That Who I Think It Is?, It Takes A Village, Nachos, Party Time, Suffer, The Way of the Fist, We Need A Diversion, Women Weaken Legs, You Did Good, Mike, and I’m Not That Man Anymore. It has an almost 6 minute “Blooper Reel”. It has the little over 6 minute “Karate Dad” with Ralph Macchio and Mary Mouser. Season 5 has a little over 6 minutes of “Deleted and Extended Scenes” which includes Giving Up Karate, It’s Time to Strike, Tory Tries to Talk to Devon, Stingray’s TMNT Video, No Hug For Nessa, Extended Opening Scene, Sam Tries to Protect Anthony, Stingray Button #2, and Kim Arrives at Cobra Kai #2. It has an almost 9 minute “Blooper Reel”. Season 6 has an “Audio Commentary” for the series finale with creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg. It has almost 26 minutes of “Deleted and Extended Scenes” which includes Stingray Explains How Cobra Kai Helped Him, Johnny Is Defeated After His Plan Has Failed, Running Into Tyler and Brucks on Campus Tour, Kreese Is Back In the Valley, Cobras Are Waiting On Tory, The Kids Are Alright But Distrust Lingers, Silver Tries to Manipulate Reese, Sam and Bobby Are Off In Training, Amanda and Michael Facetime, Hawk Wants to Get Back to Training, Anoush Proposes to Ness, Tory Encourages Robby, Sam Forfeits, Johnny and Daniel At the Dojo, Johnny and Miguel Have A Beer, Axel Asks Why Sam Forfeit, Miguel Appreciates Johnny, Amanda Encourages Daniel, Wolf Trains, and Potluck Dinner. It has a little over 9 minute “Blooper Reel”. It has a solid amount of bonus material here. I know that I’ve seen way more behind the scenes material for Cobra Kai during it’s entire run so I’m a little shocked that they didn’t include a little more especially The Cobra Kai short movies and the specials they did over the years. Regardless, this is another win for physical media. It’s great to see a Netflix production get an actual home video release. This comes in a high quality slipbox that houses separate cases for all 6 seasons. I prefer this method when it comes to complete series collections rather than having so much discs stacked on top of each other in one large awkward DVD style case. This needs to be added to your collection if you are fan of The Karate Kid franchise and Cobra Kai. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!