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| “ | I I know I said you have to... let go of your anger and show forgiveness, but... when the fight comes to you, you have to be ready to fight back. | „ |
| ~ Daniel to Robby Keene |
Daniel LaRusso is the titular main protagonist of The Karate Kid franchise.
He is the founder and owner of LaRusso Auto Group, the sensei of the Miyagi-Do Karate dojo, Mr. Miyagi's former student, the husband of Amanda LaRusso, and the father of Samantha and Anthony LaRusso.
He is portrayed by Ralph Macchio, who also played Johnny Cade in The Outsiders.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Daniel LaRusso was born on December 18th, 1966, in New Jersey state, the only child of David and Lucille LaRusso. This happy family was shattered when David died, in 1974. At that time, Daniel was eight years old, and his father had been suffering with stomach cancer for two years. Lucille never remarried.
The Karate Kid[]
In 1984, Lucille accepted a job with a computer firm, in California, forcing her and seventeen-year-old Daniel to leave their native New Jersey for the beehive state. Mother and son settled in the South Seas apartment building in Reseda.
Daniel quickly befriended Freddy Fernandez, and through him, met his future girlfriend, Ali Mills, a beautiful and popular cheerleader. Unfortunately, Ali was the ex-girlfriend of Johnny Lawrence, who, along with his friends Bobby Brown, Tommy, Jimmy and "Dutch", were members of the notorious Cobra Kai karate dojo; through Johnny, they all bullied Daniel during the early part of his new life.
Things finally came to a head on Halloween night, when Daniel soaked Johnny in a bathroom toilet stall, where he was rolling a cannabis joint; enraged, Johnny and his gang pursued Daniel outside and nearly killed him, despite the protests of Bobby. However, Daniel's life was saved by his apartment's maintenance man, Mr. Miyagi, who made short work of the five bullies. Unable to make peace with the Cobra Kai sensei, former US Army Special Forces and Vietnam War veteran Captain John Kreese, Miyagi proposed to settle things peacefully, by having Daniel fight in the upcoming All Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament that December. Overconfident, Kreese agreed, but threatened to have the bullying continue, on a much worse scale, on both Daniel and Miyagi if they quit.
Daniel began to fear for his life, after seemingly being given chores by Miyagi to help him train for the tournament. The chores included waxing all of Miyagi's classic car collection, sanding the wooden floors of his house, painting his garden fence and painting his house's outside walls. Daniel initially tried to quit, but learned that the chores were training his arms in karate blocks, so he decided to keep it up. The training continued, and Daniel fell for Ali, passed his driving test and celebrated his eighteenth birthday, which was the night before the tournament. As presents/reward for passing his test, Miyagi bought him a karate Gi, and allowed him to pick a classic car; in the end, Daniel chose a yellow 1948 Ford Super De Luxe Convertible.
The Karate Kid Part II[]
After the events of the tournament, Daniel and Mr. Miyagi come outside to see Kreese battering his top student, Johnny Lawrence. Mr. Miyagi saves Johnny, and quietly and simply dodged Kreese's punches before putting him on his knees and honking his nose; when Daniel asked Mr. Miyagi why he didn't kill Kreese when he had the chance, Mr. Miyagi replied that for a person with no forgiveness in his or her heart, living is a worse punishment than death.
After a six month time jump, Daniel Visits Mr. Miyagi and is irate that Ali dumps him for a football player at UCLA and that his mother got a job request in Fresno. Mr. Miyagi says that he already spoke with Lucille and she decided he could stay with Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Miyagi is alerted that his father is sick and wants to return to Okinawa and brings Daniel with him. Miyagi says he fell in love with a woman named Yukie, who was going to be married to Mr. Miyagi's best friend, Sato; Sato also knew the karate that Mr. Miyagi knew.
In Okinawa, Mr. Miyagi and Daniel are greeted by Chozen Toguchi, who takes them to meet Sato and then says that he is Sato's nephew. Sato demands to fight Mr. Miyagi, who is then declined. Arriving at the village, Mr. Miyagi and Daniel are welcomed by Yukie and her niece Kumiko. They Find that Sato has become a rich man whose father's supertrawlers have destroyed the fish population, making the other villagers in poverty. Mr. Miyagi's father had found a way to save the village economy by farming vegetables. Yukie reveals that she never married Sato because of her love for Mr. Miyagi. After Mr. Miyagi's father dies, Sato gives him three days to mourn out of respect before their fight. Miyagi shows Daniel the secret to his family's karate, a handheld drum that twists back and forth illustrating the "drum technique", a block-defense karate move that Daniel begins to practice. Mr. Miyagi grieves for his father, with Daniel consoling him and telling him about his own father's death.
Some time later, Daniel accidentally exposes corruption in Chozen's grocery business; Chozen accuses Daniel of insulting his honor and they have a series of angry meetings. Their feud comes to a head when Chozen and his cronies attack Daniel and vandalize Miyagi's family property; the group is quickly defeated and runs off after Miyagi arrives. Miyagi and Daniel plan to return to Los Angeles before the situation gets worse. However, Sato shows up with bulldozers and threatens to destroy the village if Miyagi refuses to fight. Forced to comply, Miyagi gives in on the condition that Sato signs the village's land title permanently over to the villagers regardless of the fight's outcome. Sato begrudgingly agrees after Miyagi describes the condition as a small price to pay for his honor.
On the day of the fight, a typhoon arrives. Villagers take cover at a nearby shelter, but Sato is trapped when his family's dojo is leveled by the storm. Miyagi and Daniel rush to rescue him. After carrying Sato to safety, Daniel attempts to rescue a child on top of a nearby bell tower. Sato orders Chozen to help, but when he refuses, Sato rushes to assist Daniel himself. He then disowns his nephew for refusing to assist, and an enraged Chozen runs off into the storm in disgrace. The next morning, as the villagers are rebuilding, Sato returns with his bulldozers — only this time to help rebuild the village. Sato hands over the land title to the village and asks for Miyagi's forgiveness, which he accepts. Daniel and Kumiko approach Sato about hosting the upcoming O-bon festival in a nearby ceremonial castle, to which he agrees and invites Daniel to join in the celebration.
While Kumiko is performing a dance at the festival, a now-vengeful Chozen ziplines into the presentation, taking her hostage and demanding to fight Daniel to the death. After a ferocious fight, Daniel is eventually overwhelmed by Chozen. Miyagi, Sato and the crowd respond by twisting handheld drums they brought to the celebration, giving Daniel the inspiration he's looking for. Seemingly confused, Chozen closes in for the kill, but Daniel is able to deflect Chozen's attacks and lands counter-attacks using the drum technique. Daniel grabs the vanquished Chozen, raising his hand and threatening to end Chozen's life saying, "Live or die, man?!". Chozen chooses death, but Daniel recalls the way Miyagi handled Kreese earlier and honks Chozen's nose before dropping him to the ground. Daniel then embraces Kumiko, while Miyagi looks on proudly.
The Karate Kid Part III[]
In September 1985, John Kreese, who is now broke and destitute after the loss of his students, visits his Vietnam War comrade, Terry Silver, a wealthy businessman who founded Cobra Kai and now owns a toxic-waste disposal business. Silver vows to personally help him get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi and re-establish Cobra Kai, sending Kreese on vacation to Tahiti to rest and recuperate.
Upon returning to Los Angeles from Okinawa, Daniel and Miyagi discover that the South Seas apartment complex is being demolished, leaving Miyagi unemployed and Daniel homeless. They also learn that Daniel's mother, Lucille, is currently in New Jersey taking care of Daniel’s ill Uncle Louie. Miyagi invites Daniel to stay at his house, and Daniel uses his college funds to help finance Miyagi's dream of opening a bonsai shop. As thanks, Miyagi makes him a partner at the business. When Daniel visits a pottery store across the street, he meets Jessica Andrews; though Daniel has a brief crush on her, she tells him that she has a boyfriend back home in Columbus, Ohio but they broke up before she came to L.A., but they still remain friends. Jessica decided to get back together with her boyfriend and go back to Ohio in a few weeks.
Silver hires Mike Barnes, a vicious karate prospect nicknamed "Karate's Badboy", to challenge Daniel at the upcoming All-Valley Karate Tournament. Silver sneaks into Miyagi's house to gather information and overhears Daniel telling Miyagi that he will not defend his title at the tournament. Barnes and his henchmen Snake and Dennis harass Daniel in an attempt to force him to enter the tournament, but Daniel still refuses, and Barnes departs in a rage.
The next morning, as Daniel and Miyagi are practicing kata, Silver interrupts their training and lies about John Kreese suffering a fatal heart attack after losing his students, and begs forgiveness for Kreese's behavior. Barnes, Snake and Dennis return to make Daniel sign up for the tournament; when Daniel again refuses, a fight ensues until Miyagi arrives and fends off the three men. After driving Jessica home, Daniel and Miyagi return to find their stock of bonsai trees missing and a tournament application hanging in place. Daniel was going to report the theft to the police, but there is nothing they could do.
To replace the missing trees, Daniel and Jessica decide to dig up and sell a valuable bonsai tree that Miyagi brought from Okinawa, and planted halfway down a cliff. As they retrieve it, Barnes and his henchmen appear and retract their climbing ropes, leaving Daniel no choice but to sign up for the tournament. After pulling them back up, Barnes breaks the tree after Snake forces Daniel to hand it over by threatening to drop Jessica. Daniel returns to the shop with Miyagi's damaged bonsai, which Miyagi attempts to mend. Miyagi tells Daniel that he sold his truck to buy a new stock of trees, and refuses to train him for the tournament.
Silver offers to "train" Daniel for the tournament at the Cobra Kai dojo with a series of brutal, violent, and offensive techniques. He derides Miyagi's kata forms and pressures Daniel to destroy a wooden practice dummy, causing him several injuries in the process. Throughout his training, Daniel's frustration alienates him from Miyagi. While Daniel and Jessica are at a nightclub, Silver bribes a random man into provoking a fight with Daniel, who responds by punching the man and breaking his nose. Shocked by his aggressive behavior, Daniel apologizes and makes amends with Jessica and Miyagi.
Daniel visits Silver to inform him that he will not compete at the tournament, but Silver reveals his true agenda to Daniel as Barnes enters the dojo. Daniel attempts to leave, but Kreese appears to intercept him, revealing himself to have been alive all along. After Barnes viciously attacks Daniel, Miyagi intervenes and easily defeats Kreese, Silver, and Barnes. Miyagi finally agrees to train Daniel after learning of their plot (while also wanting to make amends with Daniel for refusing in the first place after not realising what was going on with him). They replant the healed bonsai and begin training.
At the tournament, Barnes reaches the final round to challenge Daniel. Silver and Kreese instruct Barnes to inflict serious damage on Daniel, keep the score a tie, and finally beat him in the sudden death round. Barnes gains the upper hand during the fight while taunting Daniel relentlessly. When the initial round concludes, Daniel wants to quit, but Mr. Miyagi urges him to continue. In the sudden death round, Daniel performs the kata, initially confusing Barnes; when Barnes lunges towards him, Daniel flips him to the ground and strikes him to win the tournament. Silver leaves in disgust while the crowd throws their Cobra Kai merchandise back at Kreese, as Daniel and Miyagi celebrate their victory with a hug.
The Next Karate Kid/The Karate Part IV[]
Daniel does not appear in The Next Karate Kid but he is mentioned by Mr. Miyagi. His central role is replaced by Julie Pierce.
The Karate Kid (2010 remake)[]
For the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, Daniel's counterpart is Dre Parker.
Cobra Kai[]
In Cobra Kai, Daniel has moved on with his life. He is happily married to his wife, Amanda, and they have two children together, a daughter named Samantha and a son named Anthony. He also runs his own car dealership, the LaRusso Auto Group; as a continuation of the influence of Mr. Miyagi, Daniel gives each client a bonsai tree of their own.
Aside from his work and family, Daniel regularly takes time to visit Mr. Miyagi's grave, to ask for guidance and also to tend to the bonsai tree that grows in front of the headstone. Despite Mr. Miyagi's death, Daniel carried on his legacy and became a skilled karate sensei.
Season 1[]
Daniel meets his old frenemy, Johnny Lawrence, after the latter's Pontiac Firebird is impounded following a hit-and-run incident caused by the friends of Samantha, who herself was a passenger in the car. Daniel learns that Johnny has decided to reopen the former Cobra Kai dojo in Reseda, thirty-three years after it was closed down.
Fearing that Johnny will create a new generation of bullies, Daniel becomes focused on trying to close Cobra Kai. He gets suspicious of Sam's new boyfriend Kyler. When he catches them at the Halloween dance and embarrass her, Sam furiously leaves while being upset at him. The next day, Daniel sees that his billboard has been vandalized. This becomes the talk of the town, which makes Daniel the butt of the jokes in online forums and gives rival auto dealer Tom Cole an opportunity to mock the LaRusso Auto Group. Eventually, Sam reconciles with Daniel after dumping Kyler. After Louie and Anoush fixed it and found a couple of Cobra Kai flyers on it, he realized that it was Johnny.
Daniel tries to shut down Cobra Kai by having his friend Armand Zarkarian, owner of the Reseda strip mall into doubling the rent on his tenants. This backfires when Johnny's student, Miguel Diaz, defeats Kyler and his gang for harassing Sam following their break-up, which is then posted to the internet and causes Cobra Kai to become rapidly popular and take in many more students. Amanda is also unhappy about Daniel's plan and calls him out, stating that it will ruin other businesses of the Reseda mall.
Daniel visits Mr. Miyagi's grave, where he talks losing his way and letting anger take control of him. He remembers the lesson Mr. Miyagi taught him about balance back on his 18th birthday. Later, Daniel returns home, cleans out and rebuilds his old training room. Donning the iconic headband and gi once more, he begins to perform the Miyagi family kata, officially resuming his training. He tries to have a partner to train with but neither Sam, Amanda, and Anthony aren't interested. He takes Robby Keene, a new employee in the dealership, under his wing. He begins training him with the same methods that Mr. Miyagi had taught him decades earlier both at the LaRusso house and the dealership. Unbeknownst to Daniel, Robby is Johnny's son and wanted to work for LaRusso to get revenge on him.
Later, Daniel attends the meeting of the executive committee of the All Valley Karate Tournament of which he is a member, where Johnny is trying to convince the committee to lift the lifetime ban on Cobra Kai for the events that had taken place in 1985 and the actions caused by Silver, Kreese, and Barnes. Daniel wanted to keep the ban in place. Johnny gives a speech on how his Cobra Kai is different than Kreese and Silver. The committee vote 3–2 in Johnny's favor to lift the ban and declare his dojo eligible for the forthcoming tournament, which infuriates Daniel.
The LaRussos have family dinner with Lucille and Louie. During this, Daniel talks about how dangerous Cobra Kai is with Lucille telling Daniel to Anthony on how they once pushed Daniel off a cliff. This affects Sam a little as some of her friends (including Aisha) are Johnny's students and unknown to Daniel, she is dating one (Miguel). Daniel takes Robby to a wooded area where they continue to train. When Daniel shares a lesson about balance in life, Robby nearly tells him the truth about who his father is, but ultimately decides against it. His training is capped off with a balancing exercise in which he tries to execute karate techniques atop a horizontal tree trunk without falling. Later, Daniel puts himself upside down on one arm trying to perform the most powerful kick in Miyagi-Do, a double-footed kick that he has never done before. Daniel and Robby returns to the house and have another family dinner.
The next day, Johnny confronts Daniel at his home, as Louie and several bikers Louie had hired destroyed Johnny's car and set it on fire last night as payback for vandalizing the billboard. The two get into a near fight before Amanda defuses the situation through breakfast. During this, Daniel and Amanda finds out that Sam was involved in the hit and run accident, even though she didn't do it and it was Yasmine's fault. Realizing that Louie was using their family name, he fires him from the dealership. Daniel takes Johnny to the dealership to give him a replacement car. Johnny picks a 2009 Challenger and wants to take on a test drive. With Robby on his day off and Louie fired, Daniel has no choice but to go with Johnny. While on a test drive, the two bond together, where they end up visiting Daniel's old apartment, South Seas, and reveal their stories before they met. Discovering they have more in common than he thought, Johnny decides to take Daniel out for a drink. At the bar, the two men discuss their respective father figures and Ali, with Daniel showing her Facebook profile to Johnny and reveals that he never tried to reach out to her.
Returning to the LaRusso house, Daniel and Johnny agree to a match for fun in the dojo room. Inside, they find Robby there waiting for Daniel. When Johnny learns that his son is Daniel's new student, he violently shoves Daniel against the walls. Robby immediately steps between them, telling his dad to back off. Shocked by this Johnny leaves the house. This also shocks Daniel as he finds out that Robby is Johnny's son the whole time. Feeling betrayed and that Robby lied to him, Daniel banishes him from his home and his business.
On the day of the annual All Valley Under-18 Karate tournament, Amanda tries to comfort Daniel (still upset about Robby's dishonesty) and Sam (who dumped Miguel for hitting her and attacking Robby at Cobra Kai's party). She convinces them to attend the All Valley Karate Tournament since LaRusso Auto Group is one of the tournament's major sponsors and must be represented. He ends up going with his family where he is met with a hero's welcome and takes a moment to admire his own 1984 championship banner before escorting his family to their front row seats. Daniel is dismayed when Cobra Kai makes their grand entrance. To his surprise, Robby is also participating in the tournament as a fighter unaffiliated with any dojo. Later, as a deliberate slight and insult to Daniel, Johnny has Miguel use the Crane Kick to defeat an opponent, which infuriates Daniel and Sam. During the matches, Daniel started cheering for Robby despite being mad at him. After Robby is injured by being attacked by Cobra Kai student, Hawk, from behind during the semifinal match, Daniel approaches him and has a talk with him. They reconcile with Daniel forgiving Robby for not telling him the truth about him and Johnny.
Daniel assists Robby back into the ring in the final match against Miguel and agrees to him fighting as a member of Miyagi-do Karate with Daniel as his coach. Unfortunately, Robby ultimately loses the tournament final to Miguel, after he targets Robby's injured arm to get the win. Cobra Kai wins the tournament. Johnny goes to Daniel and Robby and tries to apologize, which Robby accepts. Daniel coldly congratulates Johnny for getting the win. After the match, Daniel reassures Robby that he's proud of him and he fought with honor, unlike Miguel. He then takes Robby to Mr Miyagi's old home, and reveals that he plans to use it as a dojo to continue Robby's training and teach Miyagi-Do Karate to others, in order to defeat Cobra Kai in the next tournament and bring them down once again.
Season 2[]
Daniel and Robby get to work cleaning and repairing Mr. Miyagi's old house and preparing it for a dojo for Miyagi-Do. At night, he returns home to his family. Amanda expresses her concerns with Daniel being able to balance everything on being Miyagi-Do sensei and running the dealership, to which he claims he'll be able to balance them both. Later, Daniel and Robby goes to the hardware store, where they bump into Johnny and Daniel leaves the two of them to talk. Back at home, Daniel sees that Sam has resumed her training, and has a brief conversation with her about her grief over the breakup with Miguel. Daniel invites her to join his Miyagi-Do training, but she refused because she does not want to fight her Cobra Kai friends. In the evening, having finished the construction of the Miyagi-Do dojo, Daniel meditates. After clearing his mind, he tells Robby he will not destroy Cobra Kai, because they aren't the enemy. Instead, he plans to show them and all the other people in the Valley a better way. Then Sam arrives to tell that she decides to join their training, and Daniel welcomes her.
On the first day of Miyagi-Do training, Daniel devises a new exercise to keep his students in balance, but is temporarily called away to handle an emergency at the car dealership. After finding out from Sam that Robby's mom, Shannon Keene, who is also Johnny's ex-girlfriend, is away on vacation to Cabo with her new boyfriend and he is all alone in his apartment, Daniel has Robby come stay with him. He goes to the Cobra Kai dojo to inform Johnny of Robby's situation only to see Johnny with John Kreese. Shocked to see that Kreese has returned, Daniel has vowed to stop Cobra Kai.
In order to get more students, Daniel does commercial where he promotes his Dojo and trashes Cobra Kai. However, he has trouble getting more students when some potential students think Miyagi-Do is a facade to get people to do free work. He decides to stage a demonstration at the Valley Fest. The Miyagi-Do demonstration goes well but is swiftly interrupted by Cobra Kai's own demonstration of their karate as Johnny was upset at Daniel's commercial.
Daniel, Amanda, Sam, and Robby head to a local beach club. He meets with Aisha's mother where she is undermining Daniel's efforts at promoting Miyagi-Do by showing off footage of the Cobra Kai demonstration at Valley Fest. Later, when Robby is attacked by old friends, Trey and Cruz, and their new friend Derek while confronting them for stealing people's wallets, Daniel arrives in time to save him and fights them off while Robby records the whole thing on his phone, hoping to use it to recruit more students. Daniel refuses to use the footage on principle, but instead echoes the sentiments shared with him by a fisherman he encountered on the beach earlier: "If you’re offering something worthwhile, the bites will come eventually". Daniel suggested to the fisherman that he reminds him heavily of Mr. Miyagi. He is content to be patient and wait for the people who need them. However, things start to look up for Daniel when Demetri, a bullied student, joins Miyagi-Do after his attempt to join Cobra Kai failed for him.
While training Demetri, he struggles with the Miyagi-Do teachings. Daniel assures him that he'll adjust. After hearing about a fight in the mall, Daniel returns home and hears from Sam and Robby about it. He praises them for not getting to in a fight and only defending themselves. He goes to Demetri who opens up about how alone and weak he feels having lost his friends, including Hawk, to Cobra Kai; to him, he sees learning Miyagi-Do as a means to fight back, but obviously, that isn't what the system is about. He resorts to Game of Thrones analogies, which Daniel, surprisingly, understands. If Robby and Sam are Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, that doesn't necessarily mean he has to be Samwell Tarly. Despite the fact he sees through the whole “paint the fence” routine, he starts to see the value in it. Daniel then slowly trains him the move.
One night a few Cobra Kai student's under Kreese's order trash Daniel's Dojo, steal Miyagi's Medal of Honor, and vandalizes Daniel's prized car that Mr. Miyagi gifted him. When Daniel, Robby and Sam see the dojo trashed and Miyagi's badge of honor missing, an angry Daniel goes to Cobra Kai where he confronts Johnny who does not know what Daniel is talking about as he is unaware that Kreese instructed his students to do so. He also reprimands Johnny for beating up Anoush the day before. He gives Johnny's students the low-down about who their sensei really is and what he's teaching them. Despite another setback, things look up for Daniel once again when a few Cobra Kai students (especially Chris) unhappy with Kreese's ruthless teachings, leave the dojo and join Miyagi-Do.
The former Cobra Kai's including Chris and Nathaniel arrives at Miyagi-Do and are welcomed by Daniel. Sam, Robby, Demetri were unhappy at first because they recognized Chris, who was one of the Cobra Kai's who tried to beat up Demetri. When things aren't going well with the new students, Daniel decides to tell them the time he joined Cobra Kai in order to show how everyone Cobra Kai can corrupt people, and people can change. Eventually, Sam, Robby, and Demetri are able to work together with Chris and the former Cobra Kai's and they're all now officially Miyagi-Do.
On one morning, Kreese shows up at Miyagi-Do where he threatens Daniel with war between the two dojos and mocks Miyagi's death which angers Daniel. Daniel spending time with his dojo and students prevents him for going to work, causing Amanda to pick up all of Daniel's slack. This leads to several employees including Anoush to quit out of frustration for Daniel's absence and joins Tom Cole's dealership. Amanda then calls Daniel out for being unable to balance both jobs. Daniel tries everything to make amends such as buying her sushi, making his students wax the cars, but eventually they reconciled and reminisced the past. Later, Sam and the Miyagi-Do's find Miyagi's Medal of Honor on the ground, though they're unaware that Miguel gave it to Robby the previous night and Robby planted it there.
One day, Shannon came back to Cabo and is visited by Amanda and Daniel, when Robby returns to the house they give him and Shannon time to talk. At night, Daniel and Amanda go on a date to a Mexican restaurant and runs into Johnny and meets his date Carmen Diaz, who is Miguel's mother. However, the two bond and resolve their differences when Johnny reveals he kicked Kreese out of Cobra Kai. The 2 couple ends up in a double date, eventually participating in a salsa dance, and it goes successful. Daniel even reveals to Johnny that both he and Amanda have re-enrolled Robby in school, which Johnny appreciates. They end the night on good terms with Daniel and Johnny shaking hands.
The next morning, Amanda and Daniel wake up and sees that Sam isn't in her room. He asks Anthony who returned from summer camp and reveals that he hasn't saw her since he came back. They see a text message on her computer from Aisha asking if Sam was ok after being drunk. This shocked both of them and they find her location on Daniel's phone and finds out the she is at Johnny's apartment. He goes to Johnny's house and knocks on the door. When Johnny opens the door, Daniel asks if Sam is there to which Johnny says she is and he tells Daniel to not overreact which angers Daniel. Daniel demands Johnny to let him in but he refuses and that he'll bring Sam to him when he cools off. An angry Daniel kicks the door open and he and Johnny immediately begin to fight. Daniel gains the upper hand, and begins to look for Sam, but Johnny counters, and Daniel's attention turns back towards the fight until Sam and Robby stop them. Daniel angrily tells Robby that it's up to him if he wants to end up like Johnny and takes Sam home.
On the first day of school, Daniel has taken Sam's car away and he drives her to school. They argue a bit, and Sam gets out of Daniel's car without saying a goodbye, still unhappy with Daniel. Later, that day, they got a call from the school about a big fight between the Miaygi-Do and Cobra Kai students. Sam have some serious injuries by Cobra Kai student, Tory Nichols, and is sent to the hospital. Daniel and Amanda visits her at the hospital and they are shocked to find out that Robby kicked Miguel off a railing resulting in the latter being severely injured. Johnny, who is also at the hospital to see Miguel, gets into an elevator with Daniel. They don't says or does anything, but both glance at each other in shock silently saying to each other "What have we done?" before they leave the hospital. When Daniel returns to the hospital and notices Sam isn't in the room, Amanda tells him the doctor prescribed X-rays for her, believing her injuries more serious than originally thought; possibly a broken rib. Amanda demands that Daniel gives up karate and close down Miyagi-Do for good since it has caused nothing but chaos. Daniel reluctantly agreed.
Daniel goes back home where he takes down a picture of Miyagi, saying he did his best to do the right thing and apologizes.
Season 3[]
Daniel and Amanda hears that Tory is expelled and Daniel is glad to hear it. Because of the fight, the LaRusso family name is being hated by everyone and the dealership has been a ghost town. They also thought it was unfair that Sam got a 2 week suspension when it was Tory that instigated the fight; it was due to everyone participating. He assures her that he will fix everything, a promise that sours quickly when a PTA meeting proves how damaged the LaRusso family name has become. It later revealed that Louie has been rehired into the dealership since he's the first member to help out when Sam got hurt. He informs them that the 1993 Dodge Grand Caravan, which has been gone a couple of weeks. Daniel and Amanda think that Robby took it, as he knew the gate codes. So they try to track the car using a GPS until Daniel learns that Robby removed the GPS. Upon returning to Miyagi-Do, Daniel sees Sam who left school during the day. She asks if Daniel found him yet which he replies "no." They have a heart to heart conversation.
He decides to enlist Johnny's help in finding Robby, and is shocked to see that Kreese is not only still in the valley, but has taken over Cobra Kai away from Johnny after the school fight. Daniel shows restraint as he doesn't let Kreese bait him into a fight, but Kreese eerily warns him that their fight will come one day - it's inevitable. Later, Daniel is waiting by at Johnny's complex, seeing that he has two black eyes and asking what happened to him. Johnny asks what he wants, Danny says he went to the Cobra Kai dojo and saw his old sensei there after thinking that Kreese was gone, asking what happened. Johnny says he has a headache and doesn't want to talk about it, rather wanting some sleep. Danny says he has a lead on Robby and that he's been trying to find him, to which Johnny stops and turns around. They bury the hatchet and team up to look for Robby.
Daniel and Johnny goes on a road trip in search for Robby but their conflicting personalities and views on life continuously get in their way. They start looking by going to Shannon in rehab. She seems to be doing a lot better and has some actionable info regarding her son and tells them about Robby's former friends and associates, Trey and Cruz. They go visit them in prison, which they then slip into the classic 'good cop, bad cop' that fits with their odd-couple banter. At a gas station, they find the Dodge Caravan and a man taking off with it. They give chase and ended up in a garage where they get into a fight with a different guy and his friends. When Johnny's being aggressive on with a person who knew where Robby was while interrogating him, Daniel stops him and they briefly fought each other. This ended their alliance with Johnny taking the van. Shortly, Daniel receives a call from Amanda telling him that Robby showed up at Shannon's rehab. He hurries over to talk to the boy who apologizes for getting Daniel involved in everything and offers to pay him back for the van. He assures to him that everyone including Sam and his dad are worried about him. He apologizes for the last time they spoke and explains that he's going to help him through this next part. Shortly, the police arrive and arrest Robby who attempts to flee. Daniel is upset with the outcome and promises to visit Robby everyday, but he coldly tells him not to.
Daniel and Amanda meet with Tom Cole telling him that they will never be selling the dealership to him while Anoush has been rehired due to Cole’s poor treatment on him. They and Louie have also heard about Cole’s crass Doyona deal. In a last effort to save his company, Daniel flies to Tokyo to converse with the board of Doyona International. He attempts to reach an exclusive partnership with Doyona at a meeting. It doesn’t go well as board rejects his plea due to the negative press surrounding the LaRusso name following the school brawl, but he’s determined to find a way to make them agree, despite not having a plan in place. He feels depleted and failure. With his morale the lowest it's ever been, he decides to take a spontaneous trip to Okinawa.
After arriving at Okinawa, Daniel learns that the Okinawa he remembers is very different from the one it is today, with Tomi Village having been converted from a quaint village to a strip mall. A resident explains to Daniel how the construction of a mall helped to provide people with a livelihood under the leadership of Sato. He hears familiar music and is drawn to a group of young women O-bon dancing. He is shocked to see that the leader of the group is his childhood love, Kumiko, who achieved her dreams of traveling around the world as a dancer. When the dance is completed, Kumiko notices Daniel in the audience and the two reunite. Daniel and Kumiko are having tea at Tomi Village where he shares with her why he finally returned to Japan, and she takes him to Yukie’s house, where she has kept a load of love letters that Mr. Miyagi sent Yukie. She reads the last letter, Mr. Miyagi wrote a few days before he passed away. The letter reflects on his life and his relationship with Daniel. Kumiko gets emotional while reading of how proud he was of Daniel, and how Daniel welcomed him into his family and made him feel like Sam’s grandfather. This gives Daniel an idea of what to do next.
The following morning, Daniel is preparing to leave when Kumiko surprises him with a final visitor - his former nemesis Chozen Toguchi. He remembers the brutal fight they shared over thirty years ago, and how he spared Chozen's life. The reunion is tense and uncomfortable, with Chozen's rigid ways still present despite the passing time. Kumiko reveals that Chozen has changed and leaves the men alone, asking Chozen to give Daniel a tour around the new Okinawa. Chozen and Daniel venture to a dojo that overlooks the mountains, and Daniel remembers more of Miyagi's lessons as he learns that Chozen has continued the Miyagi-Do ways in Okinawa. Daniel finds a scroll containing the Miyagi-Do secret that Chozen inherited from the late Sato. Chozen refuses to share the scale and reveals that Mr. Miyagi did not teach Daniel everything he knew. A sparring match between the two men shows Daniel how much he can still learn, and the men find themselves relating to one another, as Chozen has changed quite a bit since their last encounter. Chozen teaches Daniel the Miyagi-Do teaching of pressure points, that could incapacitate their opponent's joints, saying defense takes on many forms. Later, Daniel and Chozen, now with much mutual respect between them, say their farewells and gives Daniel the scroll to bring with him back home. Chozen also reveals that he is now a sensei at Miyagi-Do in Okinawa. Daniel prepares to leave Okinawa and heads to Tomi Village to meet with Kumiko and reintroduces him to Yuna, the girl he saved from a typhoon over thirty years ago. He is elated to be reunited and she tells him that she is the VP of sales for Doyona International, and can save his business to which she does by forever reviving his lifetime contract with Doyona.
Daniel returns to America feeling energized, only to learn that things between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do escalated during his trip. Amanda has sent Sam and Anthony to Lucille's due to the recent fight at Golf N' Stuff laser tag arena which resulted with Hawk and Cobra Kai breaking Deemtri's arm. Daniel's shocked by this and he and Amanda goes to the police station. They want to file a restraining order on Kreese just to find out Kreese already filed one against her after Amanda slapped him at Cobra Kai dojo which shocks Daniel. Then, Amanda goes with a “nuclear option” to her displeasure. This includes making a deal with Armand to doubles Cobra Kai's rent and rent the dojo’s space out to a future tenant. After giving the deal some thought, Armand agrees to the deal and vows to evict Kreese from the strip mall, with the help of his two nephews, Erik and Grigor. The next day, the couple are at work, happy that they won. To their mutual shock, when Armand calls and tells them that the deal is off, Kreese talks them, their plan failed and now Kreese declares war on them, having planted a live snake at the dealership in response.
Following this, Amanda allows Daniel to reopen Miyagi-Do and resume his teachings. They tell Sam about this, but she refuses to train anymore. Amanda suggests they play hooky to help her through her pain. He reconnects with her over a father-daughter fishing trip. She opens up on how her PTSD kept her from fighting and her trauma that she has from her fight with Tory. She's unsure if she'll defend her again and only wants her friends to be safe. On the way home, Sam and Daniel stop by on the All Valley Karate Tournament location, where Daniel shares with Sam his traumatic experience in the final match of 1985 All Valley Tournament of where he almost lost to fear until Mr. Miyagi help him overcome it and win his match. Daniel reminds her that only she can help herself when she's down and no one else. In time, Sam comes around to the idea of practicing karate again and Daniel trains her in boa staff fighting - using the techniques from fishing.
Daniel heads to the juvenile detention center to see Robby on his release day, but is surprised when Johnny is already there waiting. The argument escalates with he two bickering abut Kreese just as Robby exits the building. He promptly tells both men to leave him alone. Daniel learns that the city council has canceled the upcoming All Valley Karate Tournament. Since Daniel is the two-time champ, he might be able to overturn their decision, even if he thinks it might be for the best. But Sam insists that karate and Miyagi-Do getting a bad reputation isn’t going to help anyone. He goes with Sam and Amanda to a city council meeting, with Johnny attending. To their surprise, Kreese is also there. The rivaling senseis' begin to argue in front of the council, shedding a negative light on the tournament and convincing the council to cancel the event, but Miguel, recovered from his injuries, and Sam were able to deliver a speech together and convinced the council to let the tournament continue.
The next morning, Daniel arrives at Miyagi-Do for training and sees Miguel and Sam kissing. He is surprised by their relationship and a little disappointed in Sam for kissing Miguel when Robby has just been released and more upset when he learns that Robby saw them already the night before. He tells her that she's adding more drama to her life by dating. Sam asks him to keep an open mind and says that Miguel changed and that he's not in Cobra Kai anymore since he's now in Johnny's new dojo, Eagle Fang Karate. Daniel agrees. He and Miguel have a talk and get to know each other. They learn they have more in common than they thought, with both of them coming from the same area, similar family backgrounds, and have similar reasons for getting involved in martial arts. Miguel reveals that Johnny told the events of his high school rivalry with Daniel much differently. They were also talking about Ali and the things about Daniel and Johnny through Daniel's point of view. He also shows Miguel the yellow car that Mr. Miyagi gave him. At the end of their conversation, they shake hands and part on good terms. Daniel also says it was great talking to Miguel.
That evening, Daniel attends a charity event with Amanda where he is shocked to be reunited with his ex-girlfriend Ali Mills, who is back in town for the Christmas holiday. He is even more surprised when Johnny appears moments later, having attended the event with Ali and that she and Johnny spent the day together. Johnny reveals to Daniel that he finally got Facebook which led to him and Ali texting each other. Daniel excitedly introduces Amanda to Ali, though he grows uncomfortable as the women begin to swap stories about their times with Daniel and Johnny. By the end of the event, Ali sweetly tells Daniel that they had more good times together than bad. They part on good terms.
Daniel and Amanda comes home to see that his house was broken in by Cobra Kai and attacked Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students along with Sam. Learning that Kreese ordered the attack, he flees to Cobra Kai Dojo to confront Kreese. He arrives just in time to save Johnny from a deadly chokehold by Kreese, the same way he did to him before Mr. Miyagi intervened. He kicks Kreese off Johnny and furiously confronts him about sending his students to Daniel's house. He angrily states that if it's a fight that Kreese wants then he's finally got one with Kreese stating that this was inevitable. They begin fighting until Kreese knocks Daniel through the door outside. Kreese picks up a shard of glass, threatening to reunite Daniel and Miyagi. Daniel remembers his training with Chozen, uses the pressure points he learned from Chozen to cripple Kreese. Johnny emerges from the dojo and gives Daniel a nod. Daniel prepares to strike a final blow to Kreese when Sam and Miguel arrive. The three rivaling sensei's - Daniel, Johnny, and Kreese, agree to a tournament to determine if Kreese will leave the valley or if Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang will. Johnny and Daniel agree to the terms just as Robby emerges from the dojo telling them all to leave. Daniel is a saddened with Robby's alliance with Cobra Kai but retreats.
At the Miyagi-Do dojo, Daniel and Johnny are officially allied with the students of Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do taught from both of the sensei's.
Season 4[]
On the first day of the merge, Daniel and Johnny are telling the students about the upcoming tournament and Cobra Kai. Daniel states that a new era is beginning but rivalries don't last forever. The combined dojo begins with a rocky start by their different styles feuding with their beliefs. After a rough first day, Daniel and Sam comes home where his new alarm goes off. He apologizes to Amanda and Anthony saying that he's still getting used to the alarm. Daniel and Amanda drink wine. They want the Cobra Kai's including Tory in jail for invading the house. Daniel just wants things to be normal and that with his and Johnny's alliance, they'll have a chance of winning the tournament. Johnny and Daniel's partnership doesn't go well, as Johnny's training interrupts Daniel's meditation of his students. The two's differences become more pronounced and they ultimately decide to quit their alliance. When they go to tell the kids, they discover Hawk, whom Daniel had earlier berated for burning bridges with everyone, building a sparring deck for the two dojos, convincing Daniel and Johnny to continue their alliance.
In order to better work together, Daniel and Johnny decide to spend one day each training the other. Daniel puts Johnny through Miyagi's classic lessons such as painting the fence and sanding the floor, while Johnny puts Daniel through aggressive classes and forces him to singlehandedly fight a group of hockey players.
During a training session, Daniel and Johnny spar with each other and their students and meditate with each other. The class ends successful and Daniel and Johnny handshake and fist bump each other. At the LaRusso house, Daniel and the LaRussos have dinner with Johnny and the Diaz's. The two then spend the next day training the other's students, with Daniel bringing the Eagle Fang students to the Miyagi-Do pond. He has them catch a koi with their bare hands. On their first attempt, Miguel fails. After class, Daniel learns from Miguel that Carmen has car trouble and he offers to take care of the car. Daniel drives Miguel to the dealership so the two can work on it together. While there, Daniel tells Miguel about how he never went to college because of using his money on a trip to Okinawa and opening a bonsai tree store. He reminds him that in Miyagi-Do, you react by moving in a circular motion, moving in the opposite direction of what your opponent expects. The next day at Miyagi-Do, Miguel remembers what Daniel said to him and successfully catches a koi, Daniel rewards him with the Miyagi-Do headband. While this happens, Johnny sees and he becomes jealous of their relationship.
Daniel and Miguel are training together where Johnny constantly watches them while he trains the Miyagi-Do's. At LaRusso Auto, Daniel and Miguel successfully fix Carmen's car. He lets Miguel drive Carmen's car to the party place to meet Sam and Amanda while listening to "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. Daniel explains that the 80s also had soft rock and not hard rock. During the drive, two talk about fathers. Daniel talks about Mr. Miyagi and how he became his father figure and Miguel also talks about his father. While at the party, Daniel learns from Amanda of Sam's treatment on Tory during the party. The next day at Miyagi-Do, Daniel learns about the drive-in confrontation between the rival dojos which resulted with Miguel pranking them with sprinklers. He praises him for ending a fight without getting hurt. Before Johnny and Daniel talk, Cobra Kai senseis Terry Silver and Kreese arrive at Miyagi-Do where Daniel has flashbacks from their last encounter.
Before class, Terry talks to Daniel and apologizes for the events in 1985. However, Daniel sees through his deception and doesn't forgive him. At a bar, Daniel talks about his match with Mike Barnes in the 1985 All-Valley Tournament. He adds that after the match, he never saw Terry until then. With Silver's return, he must take over the kid's training, upsetting Johnny. The two agree to a rematch and whoever wins will takeover training. At the dealership, Amanda see's Johnny's twitter post of his and Daniel's upcoming match. She wakes up Daniel and shows him the post. They also thought that their rivalry was put behind them before Anoush and Louie tells Daniel not to fight. When asked about what happened, he tells her that his Terry Silver has returned. Amanda also asks Daniel if there are any more Cobra Kai's from his past that could come back and ruin their lives. Daniel emphatically replies "No", and then corrects himself, saying he "can't say that for sure." He heads home at the same time as Sam. They argue about Johnny's teachings. She explains to Daniel that she wants to learn Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang in order to stand a chance in the tournament. However, Daniel denies the idea stating how Johnny methods are too aggressive and also reminding Sam of her treatment towards Tory at the kids party with Sam doing the instigating. She ends the conversation saying she can make her own decisions. Daniel talks to a picture of Mr. Miyagi about how his alliance with Johnny didn't work and then begins his training while remembering his experiences with Johnny. At night, Daniel and Johnny begins their fight with Miguel and Sam as the referees while Chris records it. The fight results with the sensei's knocking each other out resulting with no winner. When Hawk returns with his mohawk shaved off by Cobra Kai for his and the student's actions at the drive-in, Daniel and Johnny argue about how their conflicting methods have affected their alliance. The two dojos ultimately go their separate ways with Johnny leaving Miyagi-Do.
Daniel tells his students about the updates for the tournament. He tells his students to put everything behind them when they miss having Eagle Fang with them. After class, he comes home with Sam where she is angry to see Tory there and that Amanda is helping her. She is upset to learn about Amanda being supportive of Tory going back to school when they originally wanted her in jail. Sam compares the experience to Daniel and Johnny and that she wanted to learn from Johnny without Daniel's approval before storming off in anger. Daniel agrees with Sam about Tory and also considers this questionable and asks on why is Amanda helping Tory. She responds by telling of a dark story of her past that she never told him about. At a convenient store, he approaches his former student Robby and tells him about Terry Silver. He tells him that he will end up in a bad path after his training with him. Silver then talks to Daniel where he tells him that Cobra Kai will close down. At Miyagi-Do, Daniel holds a tournament simulator and spars with Demetri. Shortly, they are happy to see Eli/Hawk coming back to join them rather than remaining in Eagle Fang. When he gets him his gi, Daniel sees Sam and tells her that he is proud of her and it's never easy being the bigger person.
At the LaRusso house, Daniel confronts Anthony about a Cobra Kai hoodie he saw in his room. Anthony tells his father that he is being bullied and Daniel, knowing what it feel likes to be bullied himself, tells him that it's time to begin training. He takes him to Miyagi-Do where Sam and the students are training. Daniel tasks him into cleaning Mr. Miyagi's old cars. When he returns, he's impressed that Anthony cleaned them until he learns Anthony hired a man to clean the cars for him. Annoyed, Daniel decides Anthony isn't mature enough to handle karate after all. In the LaRusso dojo, Daniel notices Anthony read a Miyagi-Do scroll, which is the one that Chozen gave him. He explains that it's a hidden Miyagi-Do teaching and that is dangerous. The two have a conversation about Mr. Miyagi. The next day, Daniel and Amanda are then called to West Valley Middle School where they learn that Anthony was involved in a fight. They want suspension for the offending kids. The principal tells them that he'll be suspending the kids including Anthony to their shock. It turns out that Anthony lied about being bullied when Daniel and Amanda finds out from the principal that Anthony is a bully as he and his friends have been bullying Kenny Payne since he transferred to the school. The principal then shows them the video of Anthony and his friends chasing Kenny in the hallway and their video of filling Kenny's locker with milk. Daniel and Amanda then ground Anthony by taking away his electronics.
Daniel and Amanda join the Diaz's and Johnny to take pictures with Miguel and Sam before they go to the school prom. Vanessa, Louie's sister, puts Daniel and Amanda through therapy where they talk about Anthony. She then states on how they haven't been involved in Anthony's life. After Amanda gets angry, Vanessa concludes that Amanda and Daniel are the problem with Anthony. Later, Daniel checks with Anthony in his bedroom and tries to make amends with his son for his actions. Anthony then later wishes Daniel good luck at the upcoming All Valley Karate Tournament and hopes that Cobra Kai loses in which he agrees. Unbeknownst to Daniel, Anthony had been secretly hiding an iPad all along in his room, in which he hears due to a notification chime while playing Dungeon Lord. Daniel gets angry at him for not taking the punishment seriously and demands Anthony to give his iPad to him. Anthony protests to Daniel that it's a tablet. Regardless, Daniel breaks it using karate techniques with his knee. When Anthony reacts to it, Daniel yells "quiet" to him. He warns Anthony to follow and listen to his rules or face a much worse punishment since he is "done playing games with him", which Anthony reluctantly agrees. The next day, Daniel and Amanda sees Anthony taking out the trash where he admits his mistakes to Kenny. To make amends, he offers Daniel to help him at the dealership or the dojo and Daniel agrees. Amanda praises the situation.
On the day of the All-Valley Karate Tournament, Daniel talks to his students about his first time competing in the tournament. He adds that the road to the tournament is tough and says that if Cobra Kai wins, Miyagi-Do closes. In the skills competition, Miyagi-Do vaults to the lead, with Eagle Fang in 2nd and Cobra Kai in 5th, but ends in 2nd behind Cobra Kai, due to Eli's failure to break the boards. This results in Miyagi-Do second place. Later in the tournament, Sam updates Daniel that she, Hawk, and Demetri have advance to the quarterfinals. Daniel adds that they are still second and needs Chris to win his match. Unfortunately, he loses to his opponent Kyler when he uses Miyagi-Do. Daniel watches the next matches where he is upset that Cobra Kai utilized his teachings and he and Sam conclude that it was Robby who taught them all of their secrets. He confronts Robby about teaching Miyagi-Do secrets to Cobra Kai. When Robby explains why, Daniel tells him he never learned anything in Miyagi-Do if Robby's goal is victory. He ends with another secret: "never put passion over principle. Even if you win, you lose". When Sam uses her offense skills against Cobra Kai student Piper to win the quarterfinals, Daniel is curious about it. Sam counters with her way is different than her father's. Daniel wishes Miguel luck in the semifinals and confronts Johnny about training Sam. He gets upset about how their respective teachings affected Miguel and Sam and tells him to stay away from Sam while Johnny tells him to stay away from Miguel. Before Eli's fight with Miguel, Daniel tells him to be patient. Miguel and Hawk face each other in the semi-finals which results with Miguel pulling a muscle in his back and collapses shocking his friends, family, Johnny, Daniel, and Sam in the process.
While Miguel recovers, Sam advances to the finals to face Tory and Demetri loses his semifinal match to Robby who advances to the finals. Miguel forfeits after recovering which results with Hawk advancing to the final by default where he faces Robby. Before the fight, Daniel tells Eli to find his balance and focus. When Eli calls a timeout, he tells him about Robby being in Miyagi-Do longer than him but Daniel, who now has a change of heart, tells Eli that he has been in Cobra Kai longer than Robby and to put Robby on defense. Eli takes this to heart and ties the score. The fight goes to sudden death, the first since his match against Mike Barnes in the 1985 All Valley Karate Tournament. Daniel tells Eli to give him all he's got. In the end, Eli wins the boys division for Miyagi-Do with Daniel and the Miyagi-Do's celebrating.
Before the girls final, Daniel and Johnny apologize to one another. Daniel admits that Eagle Fang's teachings have been very helpful and Johnny also apologizes and tells him how he freaked out about Daniel and Miguel bonding. He adds that Miguel would've been stronger if Daniel kept training him. The two reconcile and team up to help Sam. Before her final match against Tory, Daniel and Johnny tell Sam to win regardless of offense or defense and after Daniel tells her to beat Cobra Kai, Sam hugs her father. Despite the two's combination, Sam loses to Tory and Cobra Kai wins. Daniel and Johnny escort a defeated Sam back to the sidelines. Daniel then watched in horror as Silver announced that he'll be opening up Cobra Kai Dojos throughout San Fernando Valley. As Cobra Kai celebrates their victory, Sam tells Daniel that they didn't win despite doing what is right and apologizes to him, but Daniel assures her that it is not her fault. Unbeknownst to Daniel, Sam, Eli , the rest of Miyagi-Do and all of Eagle Fang, Terry Silver bribed the referee to ensure Cobra Kai's victory. The LaRusso's come home disappointed for the loss.
Later on, Daniel visits Mr. Miyagi's grave. He tells him that even if he lost the bet, he still will not give up because he knows he cannot allow Cobra Kai to damage the Valley and asks an old friend for help to finish Cobra Kai once and for all. This reveals that he is talking to Chozen and he immediately agrees. After, he and Daniel bow to Mr. Miyagi's grave.
Season 5[]
After the 51st All Valley, Daniel and Amanda talk to each other about Chozen staying at their house. She gets upset with him for not telling her about him living there. Amanda talks about the tournament and praises the fact that Kreese is in jail. Daniel counters saying that Cobra Kai will be a bigger threat once they expand. Later, Daniel meets with his students to explain that he is adhering to the best and is closing down Miyagi-Do. He ends saying that Miyagi-Do will still be inside of them regardless of what happens. She talks to her father about his plan and wants to make things right. She blames herself but Daniel takes the blame and explains why he brought Chozen for help. He ends the conversation saying that he needs to keep everyone safe and keep Sam and the others out of danger. Daniel shows Chozen the news headline about Cobra Kai winning the tournament and tells him about the dojo and Terry Silver. He takes him there where Chozen sees Terry spar with students and analyzes his movements. He explains that the moves were taught by Kim Sun-Yung. Back at the LaRusso dojo, Chozen tells the history of Kim Sun-Yung. He says that he never taught Tang Soo Do and had a more controversial style. Chozen trains with him and tells that if he's going to defeat a serpent, he'll have to act like one. Chozen infiltrates Cobra Kai by acting as one of the local sensei's. Daniel heads to the pool at his house and has a drink ready for Amanda when she arrives.
Daniel is impressed with how Chozen was able to connect with Silver. Daniel tells him that Terry is a man without honor. Before Chozen has dinner with Silver, Daniel adds that Chozen has to blend in and has to get ready to be manipulated and if he finds out about him, he needs to be ready to fight.
At a country club, Daniel and Chozen finish a game with Anoush and Louie. Silver confronts him for sabotaging Cobra Kai and says to stand down or nothing will be the same. Anoush was curious to know what happened but Daniel said he wanted to buy drinks for the four of them. At Miyagi-Do, Chozen asks Daniel if Terry had previous connections and he remembers Mike Barnes. The two goes to Mike Barnes's house where they tail him to a furniture store. Chozen notices the tools he's using and the purposes of it. Daniel tells Chozen he will follow him alone. Daniel goes into the furniture store where he overhears a conversation between Mike and his worker. He mistakenly thinks that he's going to hurt him and his students and takes Mike's phone away. Daniel threatens the worker but is confused about what's going on. Mike refreshes Daniel when he shows him the store and tells Daniel that he is the actual owner. He apologizes for misinterpreting his conversation and Mike also apologizes for the torment he put him through. He tells him that he wanted to leave the past behind, his defeat banned him from karate, and also praises Daniel for his successful life. The two then talk about Silver and Mike states that he hasn't talk to him in years and can't do anything to stop him. Daniel is happy that Mike is an old Cobra Kai student who is not aggressive to him. After, Daniel and Mike playfully spar but Chozen steps in and fights him. Daniel then breaks up the fight and tells Mike it was a misunderstanding. Mike then tells about one his attorneys and Daniel calls him through a voicemail to talk about Terry Silver. Back at the country club, Terry plays his voicemail confronts him and tells him not to play with fire.
At the LaRusso house, Daniel tells Chozen that he is confused about Mike's furniture store burning down. He tells him that he left town and his insurance company is investigating the fire. Before he leaves for an auction, Daniel has him watch the dealership and house. When he and Amanda arrive, they encounter Terry Silver. Amanda tries to calm Daniel down by going him a drink as he's uncomfortable doing the event with his enemy. She needs this event to go well, as it's important to her, and he understands. Daniel threatens Silver to not ruin the day. During the auction, Terry buys Daniel's bonsai trees for $30,000. As Silver's antics begin to cause a divide in the couple, Daniel confronts him about what he was saying about Amanda after seeing him talking to Eva. When he points at him, he blocks it and Terry falls on his bonsai trees made it look like that he caused a scene. This results Amanda being embarrassed by the event. Amanda argues with Daniel about how he let his rivalry with Terry affect Amanda's chances of being on the charity. She is upset that Daniel can't let go of the past and can't go through one day without karate drama. Daniel asks for her trust into letting him and Chozen to handle this situation, so she snaps for him to handle it, but she won't be around to watch. She leaves to Ohio and takes Sam and Anthony with her.
At home, a depressed Daniel notices something that came in the mail: a newspaper clipping of Kreese’s trial with a photo included of Stingray’s testimony. Written on it is the word “liar” and an address to Stingray's house. Chozen convinces Daniel to go there. They arrive just as Stingray is going inside, and Daniel recognizes the 2009 Challenger, which Johnny used to drive. The two confront him about the newspaper clip about his trial and Stingray refuses to talk. Daniel gets angry and causes Stingray to break his PS4. He goes to Johnny's apartment to talk about the situation but Johnny doesn't want to get involved. After Daniel tells him about Amanda leaving to Ohio, Johnny sympathizes with his former rival and tells him that he and Amanda will work things out. Johnny talks about how he's trying to get Miguel and Robby to put things behind them. Remembering their own rivalry, Daniel tells the Eagle Fang sensei that if they fought, their rivalry would've been gone. After, Daniel thanks Johnny for their conversation and leaves his apartment. He gets home and Chozen packs to return to Japan, but he doesn’t want to. Daniel says he needs to let the fight go so he doesn’t lose his family. Chozen is disappointed and believes he failed Daniel, but Daniel owns up to the failures and plans to make amends with Stingray and Amanda. He buys a new PS4 for Stingray and heads to his apartment but he’s not home. But Silver is there. Daniel tells Silver that he is giving up, but Terry doesn’t care. Terry then attacks Daniel and overpowers him. Amanda and the kids return home and finds out about his injuries.
A week later, Daniel is still on bed, recovering from his injuries, while Amanda, Sam, Johnny, and Chozen brainstorm their next move. Daniel has no interest in continuing his feud with Silver, having nearly lost everything he had. He's ready to go back to the dealership. Amanda tries to convince him not to give up, to no avail. Ultimately, Amanda brings Daniel back to the Miyagi-Do dojo so he can heal. He goes into Mr. Miyagi's old room, which hasn't changed since the man lived there. Amanda shares how she visited Mr. Miyagi the night before the wedding. They talked about Daniel and how he always fought for what he believed in and standing up to Silver is right. Daniel is scared of people getting hurt, losing his family again, and failing the kids but Robby comes to the dojo and admits to Daniel that he was right about Cobra Kai. He also thanks him for turning his life around, returning to Miyagi-Do. Amanda promises they are all here for him, leading him outside to where the Eagle Fang's and Miyagi-Do's have all gathered. Daniel takes his place with Chozen and Johnny while Amanda joins the group, all bowing. Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang has re-opened and remerged once and for all.
At the dealership, Daniel, Johnny, Chozen, and Amanda look at a table map of the valley and mark where Cobra Kai dojos have cropped up. Johnny suggests calling one of Silver’s old friends, but Daniel says they tried that. But they need to do something. And Amanda knows exactly who might help: Kreese. Neither Daniel nor Johnny wants to, but Amanda thinks he’s their best bet. The former rivals visit Kreese in prison where Kreese tells the two about an international tournament called the Sekai Taikai and Silver plans to enroll the dojo there. He says if Cobra Kai wins the tournament, they will go global. Despite their efforts, they reject Kreese's help.
Daniel, Johnny, Chozen and Amanda arrive at the Cobra Kai dojo to tell the Sekai Taikai organizers that they want to participate in the tournament. The organizers first go to Miyagi-Do where Daniel explains his teachings. Next, they go to the Eagle Fang warehouse where Johnny also explains his teachings. At night, Daniel and Chozen are training Sam where she happily explains that she is back where she belongs. Daniel and Chozen tell her about their former rivalry. Chozen explains how Daniel won because he knew what he was fighting for, giving Sam something to think about. Daniel and the combined Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang at the Cobra Kai dojo for the demonstration. During the boys match between Hawk and Kenny, Daniel sees how Cobra Kai is fighting dirty again, thanks also to a (unbeknownst to anyone) bribed referee, so much that Hawk is beaten by Kenny, despite being a stronger and more experienced fighter. Daniel warns Sam about Cobra Kai's unfair moves, but she still wants to fight. When it comes the female’s fight, however, Tory is nowhere to be found, and against Sam is Devon Lee. Even though her opponent as well is favored by the bribed referee, Sam manages to win when after listening to Daniel, Miguel, and Chozen, she fights to hit Devon in a so surely fairly that the referee cannot refuse to declare her winner, and because of this, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang are admitted to Sekai Taikai along with Cobra Kai. Proud of their accomplishment, Daniel tells the kids to go celebrate.
The next day at the dealership, Johnny reveals to Daniel, Amanda, and Chozen that Carmen's pregnant, and the 2 couples along with Chozen and Louie heads out for a night on the town through a limo to celebrate Carmen's pregnancy reveal. Daniel and Chozen reminisce about Kumiko and how she was still there for him after he was disowned by Sato. When Daniel, Johnny, Chozen leave the club to go to another bar, they are celebrating in the limo but are trapped after the driver steals it and takes them to an unknown location. They think that Silver has kidnapped them and the driver starts driving recklessly causing the trio to worry.
The driver reveals himself to be Mike Barnes and berates him for his store burning down. Daniel explains that it was Silver who burnt it down and did not mean to get him caught in their conflict. Now ready for revenge, Daniel's three former rivals go to Silver's mansion to confront him. Daniel disagrees with it due to them being drunk and he is abandoned. He calls Amanda and asks her to pick him up. Daniel finds a guy with a truck and needs a ride, but the guy is a total donkey and refuses. Daniel is ready to fight it out when more guys come out of the truck. Just in time, Stingray, who had a change of heart, comes zooming around the corner and Amanda tells Daniel they need to go save the kids after learning about a brawl at the dojo against the Miyagi-Do's and Eagle Fang's through a text he received. He goes inside and they and Carmen heads to the Cobra Kai dojo. Stingray apologizes to Daniel for their previous encounter but Daniel states that he's doing the right thing. Daniel, Amanda, Carmen, and Stingray arrive at the dojo where Stingray defeats the students guarding the door. They get inside where the fight between the dojos is still occurring until the Miyagi-Fang's succeeded in showing a video of Silver revealing to Tory that he had bribed the referee in the All Valley to ensure Cobra Kai's survival, shocking Daniel, all of the Cobra Kai's, and everyone. When Silver arrives, Daniel and the Cobra Kai sensei have a rematch. During the fight, Daniel incorporates Miyagi-Do, Eagle Fang, Cobra Kai with the Quick Silver method he learned back in 1985. In the end, the two-time All Valley champion uses the crane kick to defeat him. His family embraces him to celebrate. He reunites with Johnny, Barnes, and an injured Chozen, who is immediately putted inside an ambulance to recover his wounds. Daniel is surprised to see that Barnes stole a Rembrandt painting from Silver's mansion to afford a new furniture store. Daniel and Johnny cheers for their victory and they along with everyone watches as Silver being arrested for his crimes. However, Daniel and Johnny are shocked, when a police officer informs them that Kreese has escaped.
Season 6[]
Part 1[]
Daniel is very happy to have Cobra Kai disbanded and Silver ridden off, but still has to prepare his students for the Sekai Taikai while he plans to retire after the tournament. After Hawk and Demetri reveal the logo for "Miyagi-Fang" to be a caricature of Mr. Miyagi, Daniel refuses as it ruins Mr. Miyagi’s legacy, and with Chozen's support, decides to name the combined dojo simply Miyagi-Do. Johnny and Chozen argue over the name to the point that Chozen suggests they fight to settle it. Later, Daniel finds Johnny at a pawn shop to try to talk him out of the fight, but Johnny argues that since Kreese kicked him out of Cobra Kai, Eagle Fang Karate is the only thing he feels ownership over. After failing to reason with Johnny, Daniel attempts to talk Chozen out of fighting since no matter who wins, one will hold resentment toward the other. Daniel learns from Chozen that the night he lost to Silver, he called Kumiko and she never returned his voicemail. He also says that holding onto Miyagi-Do's legacy is all he has left. While Daniel and Amanda are at home, Sam arrives after a double date at Golf N'Stuff to tell her parents that she and Tory have settled their differences, it inspires Daniel with the situation between Johnny and Chozen.
On the day of the fight, Daniel tells Chozen that they should go with Johnny’s choice for the dojo name because Mr. Miyagi never cared about tournaments and titles; he only wanted karate to be taught the honorable way. Chozen admits that he can live with this, but then Johnny shows up, saying that he concedes, much to Daniel and Chozen's surprise. He explains that he thought about it and that Eagle Fang is ultimately just another version of Cobra Kai, that it's not the legacy he wants since Cobra Kai is Kreese's legacy. Johnny admits that Daniel and Chozen have made him a better sensei, and he will do what he can to carry on Mr. Miyagi’s legacy. Johnny and Chozen are still going to fight because why not. Daniel referees their match. The new banner is revealed. It now features the tree of Miyagi-Do, but also an eagle soaring above to indicate the partnership between Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen.
At the LaRusso house, Johnny pays a visit, explaining to Daniel and Amanda that he needs to borrow an air mattress because Carmen's place is flooded. He says that the Diaz family will be staying at his place unless he can find somewhere better to rent. Chozen comments that it's not a good time to rent. Daniel suggests that Johnny could take Chozen with him and use his experience. At LaRusso Auto, Johnny vents to Daniel about supporting the Diaz family and Robby, and how he needs to get his finances on track. Daniel tells him that he needs to get a real job in order to help the Diaz's. Later, Johnny arrives at LaRusso Auto and decides that he's ready to work with him to try and raise money for a better house for his new baby and the rest of the family. Daniel and Amanda see Johnny sell a car to a customer with Chozen's advice, and the customer praises him for selling her a car. Johnny says that balance is important, and Amanda and Daniel welcome him to the dealership.
At a baby gender reveal party for Johnny and Carmen happening at his house, Daniel receives a gift which soon starts ticking from inside and worries, along with Johnny, that it could be a bomb from Kreese or Silver, but it turns out it was just a small explosion that turned him pink showing that Johnny and Carmen are expecting a girl. While everyone at the house is cheering for the reveal, Daniel approaches them with pink all over him and he says that he's too old for pranks. At Mr. Miyagi's house, Daniel finds a trapdoor under the floor of his late mentor's room that he had never seen before and there is a box of stuff inside, learning that he was a boxer and and his passport with a false date of birth and an old address. But there is also an article that Miyagi had assaulted someone and stolen a necklace in 1947. This hugely shocks Daniel who had never known Mr. Miyagi to have been like this, so he, Amanda and Chozen head to that address. When they arrive at a boxing gym, one of the boxers flees, thinking that Daniel is a police officer. Chozen and Daniel chase him off. Once Chozen captures him, Daniel shows him Mr. Miyagi's passport and it rang a bell with him. The boxer then explains how his grandfather and Mr. Miyagi had a good relationship. He also explains that the reason why he had a fake document because he could've been hiding something. Chozen explains that Miyagi left Okinawa for America but the boxer said he fled from America. Despite their efforts, the boxer leaves them. At Miyagi-Do, Chozen tells Daniel that Mr. Miyagi is a good man but Daniel vents that he hid this information from him for a very long time. Amanda tells Daniel that it's best to make time for their loved ones.
When it turns out only 6 fighters can fight in the Sekai Taikai, Johnny and Daniel decide to invite Mike Barnes to judge the students, due to his unbiased nature. While the students get ready, Mike then talks to Daniel about their last encounter at the dojo and is happy to be back. During the second round after Kenny accidentally gave Anthony a bloody nose that caused him to get eliminated, Daniel tries to cheer up Anthony to no avail. He also notices that Mike is starting to act like his old self back in the 1980s. While Hawk, Demetri, Kenny, Devon are racing in the woods for the final two spots, Mike apologizes to Daniel about how he's been acting and explains how part of his old self got out of his system after his fight with Johnny, something Daniel didn't know about. The 6 students are selected: Miguel, Sam, Robby, Tory, Demetri, and Devon. Daniel and Johnny thanks Mike for his help before he parts ways with them. Shortly, Daniel confronts Johnny about Hawk not getting a spot, fighting Barnes, and going Eagle Fang to get what he wants. Daniel also warns him that they have no idea what they're facing despite having a strong team.
After the 6 fighters are picked, team captains are picked via fights; Miguel vs Robby, and Sam vs Tory. Johnny trains them with his training methods, doing his own way of Miyagi-Do, much to Daniel's embarrassment. After grocery shopping, Daniel complains to Amanda about Johnny taking over training and that he hasn't been embracing Miyagi-Do. Amanda tells him that anything is possible. Daniel counters saying Mr. Miyagi never wanted this to happen. The next day, Daniel trains in private with Miguel and Sam by reviewing kata where they are found by Johnny, who gets upset of Daniel's takeover before he orders Johnny to finish the test drive. Back at the LaRusso house, when Daniel continues to complain about Johnny and his unprofessional behavior, Amanda tells him that they are still partners. Amanda mentions that he's been imbalanced since he found Mr. Miyagi's old box and that he needs to focus on the present and that the students need him and Johnny.
Before the matches, Daniel tries to apologize but Johnny understands that he was doing his job. He adds that even if he's his boss at the dealership, he's his partner at the dojo. He tells Johnny that he will referee Miguel and Robby and Johnny will referee Sam and Tory. Miguel and Robby are first; their match begins and Miguel wins the first two points, but Robby mounts a comeback and beats Miguel and becomes male captain. Sam and Tory are next and during the match, Daniel notices Tory's emotions change and Amanda, having been just been called by the hospital informing her of Tory's mother's death, tells Daniel to stop and he rightfully does, stopping Tory from potentially hitting Sam since she is apparently emotionally unstable. This upsets Johnny since he's the ref, but Daniel tries to tell him what's going on and Tory reveals her mother has died to everyone's shock. Daniel and Amanda express their condolences, but the former says they'll have find another way to appoint the captain and Johnny contradicts saying Tory needs to fight. The LaRusso's and Robby tries tries to help Tory but she is so angry and upset, she storms off and quits the team and presumably karate. Sam becomes female captain by default. Daniel and Johnny argue of Daniel's decision to end the fight. Daniel punches Johnny when he, after learning from Amanda about the secret box, calls Mr. Miyagi a thief and a liar. Johnny proclaims that after the Sekai Taikai, he will leave Daniel. With Tory not going to compete with Miyagi-Do, Hawk takes her spot. While Daniel gives Sam the Sekai Taikai captain headband, he sees that the captain headbands look familiar to the one he saw in Mr. Miyagi's box. He realizes that Mr. Miyagi fought in the tournament as well and sees blood on it, causing him to question his belief.
Miyagi-Do arrives in Barcelona with Sam and Robby leading, Miguel, Hawk, Demetri, and Devon to the mat looking over at all the other rival dojo’s. While getting ready, they see the new Cobra Kai, led by Kreese and Kim Da-Eun and their fellow students, led by Kwon Jae-Sung. Shortly, Tory appears with them, revealing that she has rejoined Cobra Kai and Kreese, much to Daniel, Johnny, and their student's shock.
Part 2[]
Arriving at the hotel, Daniel and Johnny bicker of how their actions led Tory to rejoin Kreese. Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen are roommates. Daniel FaceTimes Amanda to check in with each other. Later, Daniel and Johnny attend a mixer event. Daniel shows the committee Mr. Miyagi's old headband. Gunther Braun explains that the tournament was brutal when he notices the blood. He tells Daniel about an old karate master named Serrano and that he can refer to him. He thanks them before de-escalating Johnny’s beef with Sensei Wolf and Kreese. Shortly, a drunken Chozen arrives and makes a scene. He tells Daniel and Johnny about his trip to Okinawa to visit Kumiko only to find out that she’s with a different man before he smashes flowers that leads to the trio being forced to leave. On the first day of the tournament, Miyagi-Do participates in a Captain’s War fight against Cobra Kai, Iron Dragons, and the Italian dojo, Falchi Della Notte. Miyagi-Do loses the round before they witness Cobra Kai being defeated by the Iron Dragons led by Sensei Wolf.
During the next event, the Miyagi-Dos struggle in the one-on-one matches. At the hotel, Daniel tells them that they knew this isn't an easy journey. Shortly, Daniel receives an address to Master Serrano. He checks in with Amanda again and assures her that he’ll be fine. When Daniel arrives at the address to look for Serrano, he gets knocked out by an unknown person. When he wakes up, he finds himself trapped in a dog cage. He managed to escape the cage and fights the thugs and then when he encounters one of them, he notices a Cobra Kai tattoo and assumes that he’s working for Kreese. They continue fighting until Daniel wins and leave to go back to his students. Daniel then confronts Kreese for supposedly making him miss the last 2 events. Shortly, he learns from Sam that Miyagi-Do’s advancing. When he returns to his hotel room, he sees Johnny packing his things. Johnny tells him about Carmen’s pregnancy situation and he and Miguel are heading back to LA to visit her in the hospital.
Later, Daniel informs Chozen about Johnny's situation and his kidnapping the other day. Chozen assures him when Kreese tends to retaliate, they will show restrain. He tells Daniel to get some rest while he stays awake in case Cobra Kai attacks. The next day, Daniel is informed by Chozen that he found the same man who kidnapped him. He meets up with him along with Kreese and Kim Da-Eun. Walking into the spa of the hotel, they are surprised to find the thug being greeted by Sensei Wolf. To the surprise of the four, the man who planned the kidnapping was Terry Silver. He is revealed to be the manager of the Iron Dragons dojo and the thug, Dennis de Guzman, is one of his old associates from 1985.
Daniel and Chozen informs Silver's return to their students and later Johnny when he returns with Miguel and Kenny. Johnny tells Daniel and Chozen that they’ll take down Silver again. Daniel tells Johnny how he’s relieved to hear that Carmen and the baby are ok and thanks him for the voicemail he sent him the other day. At the tournament, Daniel, Johnny, Chozen successfully messed with Kreese and Silver's minds by stealing Kreese's eunjangdo knife and replaced it with a spa ticket to frame Silver for the theft. Before Miyagi-Do’s match against Cobra Kai, Johnny and Daniel went to the locker room and watch as their students had regained focus. Miyagi-Do makes the semifinals after defeating Cobra Kai thanks to the improved teamwork of their students. Silver gives Daniel an envelope with results that includes Mr. Miyagi's Seikai Taikai match. He, Johnny, and Chozen learn that Miyagi killed his opponent which shocks Daniel.
After waking up from a nightmare of him fighting Mr. Miyagi in his Sekai Taikai match, Daniel shows the results to Gunther. He tells Daniel that the list is official and adds that death was a rare occurrence. Chozen and Johnny comforts Daniel about it. Miyagi-Do then learns about Cobra Kai's reinstatement following the disqualification of the Russian dojo, Tiger Strike. At the beach, Daniel and Johnny bicker before Miguel stops them. After he reminds the two of their past success, Daniel and Johnny reconcile. They along with Miguel trains Sam and Robby for their semifinal matches while exploring different parts of Barcelona in the process. However, during the match between Robby and Iron Dragon student, Axel Kovacevic, Kwon, restrains and cheap shots Robby which results in an all-out brawl between the dojos. During the fight, Daniel fights Dennis before he and Johnny faces Sensei Wolf. When Daniel sees Kwon attempting to kill Axel with Kreese’s knife, he tries to stop him before someone gets hurt, but it’s too late as Kwon accidentally impaled himself with it which puts the fight on halt. Daniel checks on Kwon and he horribly discovers the knife on his body much to his and everyone’s shock.
Karate Kid (2025)[]
TBA
Relationships[]
Lucille LaRusso[]
Lucille is Daniel's mother, having raised him by herself after the death of Mr. LaRusso. The pair were close after the death and relied on one another during difficult times. She was aware that her son was being bullied and supported his choice to learn karate. As adults, the pair remained close. She often served as his sounding board when he had troubles in his marriage or with his children.
Mr. Miyagi[]
Mr. Miyagi was Daniel's mentor and karate sensei, but the mentorship went beyond karate. Daniel learned invaluable life lessons and inner-peace from Miyagi, eventually coming to view him as a father-figure. Miyagi felt the same way, as he had lost his wife and only child during World War II, while Daniel's father had died at a young age. They each filled the gaps left by their tremendous loss. While Daniel loved Miyagi, he was not above snapping at the man or lashing out. He even revolted against Miyagi at one point, believing his teachings were no longer correct. When Daniel saw the error of his ways, Miyagi welcomed Daniel back without judgement. The elder's teachings were often shrouded in mystery that annoyed his young apprentice.
When Daniel got married and had a family of his own, he included Miyagi in every possible aspect to the point where Miyagi viewed Daniel's daughter as his granddaughter. Miyagi was also incredibly good-natured to Daniel's mother, Luceille. Unfortunately, Daniel and Miyagi's relationship ended when the latter died. Daniel was left devastated by the loss. He soon discovered that Miyagi had willed him his complete antique car collection and his house which doubled as a dojo. To honor his friend, Daniel began giving away bonsai trees to all his customers that purchased a car from LaRusso Auto Group. Upon reopening Miyagi Do, Daniel strove to be as good of a teacher as Miyagi was. When he felt that he failed, he apologized to a photograph of Miyagi for not doing the right thing.
Daniel visits Okinawa in an effort to save his business. He visits Miyagi's old village where he revisits many of his memories of his old mentor. Daniel tells Chozen that Miyagi saw him as his son. He discovers that Miyagi hid more dangerous parts of Miyagi-Do from Daniel, presumably to protect him. The visit allows Daniel to learn more about his beloved mentor, reconcile with Chozen, save his business, learn new Miyagi-Do techniques, and later reopen Miyagi Do.
Daniel discovers a box containing materials from Mr. Miyagi's past, including a falsified passport which leads him to learn that Mr. Miyagi may have once robbed and assaulted a man. This casts a complication over his memories of Mr. Miyagi, as while he realizes he likely doesn't have the full story, he doesn't understand why he never chose to tell him. He later discovers a headband indicating that Mr. Miyagi once competed in the Sekai Taikai.
Amanda LaRusso[]
Amanda is Daniel's wife and the mother of their two children. They met and were married in the early 2000s, after which, they started a family with the birth of their first child, their daughter Samantha, followed by the birth of their son Anthony several years later. A few months before Samantha was born, they also opened an auto dealership together and became business partners. The success of their business allowed them a grand lifestyle that they both enjoyed. When Daniel is faced with the return of his high school nemesis and bully Johnny Lawrence, Amanda becomes his moral voice of reason and support system. She often tries to guide him in the right direction even if he ignores her advice. When Daniel's obsession with Miyagi Do and the drama surrounding his karate life, he inadvertently leaves Amanda to deal with the dealership, finances, and household herself. This negatively affects their marriage and she informs him of how his actions have affected her, something he was completely unaware of. He has to work to earn back her trust and support through actions instead of empty promises. Over time, they reconcile, though she believes he should close Miyagi Do due to the violence it has created.
When John Kreese returned to the valley, Amanda initially didn't understand the intense hatred or fear that Daniel held toward Kreese. She felt it was unwarranted in some aspects and frequently told him to stop fueling the growing tension. It wasn't until Kreese turned his sights on Amanda, the dealership, and Sam, that she believed Daniel. They worked together to see legal action against Kreese, only to learn he had already placed a restraining order against Amanda. When the Cobra Kai's attack the Miyagi-Do students, Daniel and Amanda become closer than ever as they face their issues head-on as a unified team.
Samantha LaRusso[]
Samantha is Daniel's daughter. They have a close relationship, though Daniel is a lot closer with her than with Anthony, teaching the former karate while the latter always has his face buried in video games. Amanda has even called her Daniel's "Mini Me" a few times. In a flashback, it is revealed that Daniel claimed her as his child while she was still in utero. Daniel also provides Sam with consolation when she is scared of Tory and promises he will always be there for Sam.
Anthony LaRusso[]
Anthony is Daniel's son. Daniel loves him very much despite his rotten attitude and Anthony looks up to his father and boasts about his karate skills. Daniel advises Anthony to let go of his video game and join the other kids during the country club party but it had no success, much to Daniel's chagrin. A few years later, Anthony explained to his dad that there was a bully in school and Daniel decided to begin training his son in Miyagi-Do Karate, only to give up when Anthony demonstrated to be too lazy to perform chores associated with the training, such as washing some old cars. Anthony ultimately confessed to his dad that he felt left out of the loop because not only he did not have any good memories with Mr. Miyagi apart from when he was an infant, but also because Sam had been receiving more attention and support lately. Eventually, Daniel and Amanda discovered that Anthony lied and that he and some of his friends had been bullying their new classmate Kenny Payne for several weeks, prompting Daniel and Amanda to confiscate all of Anthony's electronic devices. When he proved to be not taking his punishment seriously when Daniel finds an iPad in his bed, Daniel threatens to give Anthony an even worse punishment unless he agrees to behave, which appeared to put Anthony back in line. Because of this, Daniel then showed compassion to Anthony when he decided to not only take out the trash to make amends, but also agreed to help out at the dealership or the dojo, which Daniel agreed on.
Robby Keene[]
Robby was a student of Daniel and former employee at LaRusso Auto. They first meet when Robby is hired at LaRusso Auto, but Daniel is unaware that Robby is Johnny's son. Within no time they develop a friendship. They become closer when Robby does karate with Daniel. However, after finding out that Robby is Johnny's son. he kicks Robby out as he feels used and conned. Despite the anger, he roots for him in the All Valley Tournament and eventually forgives him and becomes his teacher in the finals. Unfortunately Robby loses, but Daniel is proud of him for fighting honorably. After the tournament, Daniel takes Robby to his house and enlists him as his first student in the newly re-opened Miyagi Do Karate.
Robby comes to stay at Daniel's house after his mother takes off. This combined with Miyagi Do Karate allows them to interact even more. However, when Daniel finds Robby and Sam at Johnny's house the morning after Sam got drunk in a party, an angry Daniel rebukes Robby and says he lost his trust. Daniel then leaves, making Robby upset. Later at the hospital following the school brawl, Daniel is shocked to learn that Robby kicked Miguel off the railing.
Robby goes on the run and Daniel tries to find him. Shannon calls Daniel to talk to Robby, and Daniel tells Robby that he turned him to the Police to get a shorter sentence of a few weeks at Juvie. Robby thinks Daniel betrayed him. After Robby is handcuffed and taken away by the police, Robby orders Daniel to not visit him in juvie as he thinks Daniel betrayed him. The next day after being questioned and placed in juvie, the officer calls him to a phone call and Daniel calls him from the dealership with Amanda by his side and tries to talk to Robby, but Robby hangs up on him which makes Daniel upset. When Robby is released from juvie, Daniel and Johnny tell him that he always has a home with either of them, but Robby tells Daniel and Johnny to leave him alone and walks away. After Daniel defeats Kreese at Cobra Kai, Robby coldly tells Daniel, Johnny, Miguel and Sam to leave.
Following the 51st All Valley, Robby reconciles with both Daniel and Johnny. Daniel admits to believing that he'd failed Robby and tries to apologize, but Robby reassures Daniel that he didn't fail him, and Robby just didn't understand what Daniel had been trying to teach him until he witnessed Kenny Payne that he was mentoring make the same mistakes. Robby helps convince Daniel to rejoin the fight against Cobra Kai while rejoining Miyagi-Do himself.
Johnny Lawrence[]
| “ | Obviously, you care a lot about them both, so I have a pretty good feeling you're gonna work it out too. Whether it be with the computer savvy, new Johnny approach or something a little more... Johnny Classic. Johnny Classic, huh? I didn't think you were a fan of this. Yeah, well, you starting to grow on me. Tell anyone I said that, we really are gonna fight again. I'm not talking tournament rules. Maybe that's how we should have done it all those years ago. If we hadn't had to stop at three points, we might've got this out of our systems. I might have. Three points is all you had in you. There he is. All right. On that note, thanks for the Banquet. And the perspective. That's what I'm here for. |
„ |
| ~ Daniel and Johnny |
Johnny is Daniel's first rival when Daniel moved to California from New Jersey. Despite not actually moving in on Johnny's ex-girlfriend Ali (instead he was just meeting and bonding), Johnny saw it as him stealing her, and immediately confronted her. However, LaRusso kept butting, so Johnny had to push him away, thus causing a rivalry. Their rivalry supposedly ended after Daniel beat Johnny in the finals of The All-Valley Tournament, which earns his rival's respect when he is handed the All-Valley trophy by Johnny. Despite Daniel's feud with Johnny, it is in fact Kreese who is Daniel and Mr. Miyagi's true mortal enemy. In the finals of the 1984 All Valley Tournament during the original Karate Kid film, Kreese tells Johnny to sweep Daniel's injured leg, but Johnny loses to Daniel.
However, their rivalry is reignited when Johnny reopens Cobra Kai over 30 years after Johnny's defeat. Despite this, however, Daniel explained to Robby that it wasn't Johnny's fault for being aggressive, only his teacher Kreese was to blame for teaching him these aggressive things. There are also occasions where both Daniel and Johnny bond, even though those moments are short lived.
Ali helps Johnny and Daniel see that they are more alike than they would like to admit and the two finally reconcile. Previous to this, Daniel indicates to Chozen that he wishes all of his rivalries could end well, suggesting that he desires a good end to his rivalry with Johnny but cannot find a way to do it. Daniel later saves Johnny from John Kreese and the two men confront Kreese together, both wanting Cobra Kai to end for good. Now united against a common enemy, the two begin working together to take Cobra Kai down, bowing to each other in respect as they begin training students together. However, it becomes strained once more due to their different teachings, and also when the Miyagi-Do's and Eagle Fang's refused to jump off the roof except for Sam. As a result, this causes a rematch to happen between them, only to end in a tie and causing Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do to go separate ways, even resulting them facing against each other in the All Valley. However, the two reconcile and team up to help Sam in her match against Tory.
Following their loss at the All-Valley tournament, Daniel and Johnny appear to have set aside their rivalry completely and become good friends. Johnny offers Daniel advice on his issues while getting inspiration from Daniel on how to fix the rivalry between Robby and Miguel. Daniel notes that if he and Johnny had just fought it out a long time ago, their own rivalry might have ended much sooner.
While working Johnny is briefly working alone with Chozen, the two men at first try to one up each other in stories of how they had bullied Daniel in the past before switching to their good stories of him, showing just how deeply both Johnny and Chozen respect Daniel. In particular, Johnny brings up his admiration of how Daniel never backs down from a fight and how Daniel once beat five hockey players five on one.
When they rejoin the front against Cobra Kai, they are a completely united front for the first time and when asked for a name of their dojo, give the name of each other's as they are not one dojo, but two working together. After finding out that Carmen is pregnant, the two men and Chozen enjoy a night out together to celebrate. Following the defeat of Terry Silver, the two men share a hug in victory.
Following this, the two of them are stronger together than ever, though they still butt heads at times due to Johnny's headstrong nature. Daniel is nevertheless impressed at Johnny's seeming willingness to embrace the Miyagi-Do philosophy. He encourages him to keep at it, telling him that it is not a quick fix, but that it will change his life. When Johnny comes to him, asking for a position at the LaRusso Auto Group in order to try to provide a better apartment for Carmen, he accepts.
This, however, brings the two of them back into conflict, as Johnny accuses Daniel of abusing his position to train the students behind his back while he is away. Things boil over when Daniel cuts off Tory's fight with Samantha for the female captaincy of the Sekai Taikai after learning about the death of her mother, Grace. Daniel pleads that it is not the Miyagi-Do way, but Johnny takes a cheap shot, saying that he's sick of hearing about Miyagi and that based on the contents of the secret box of Miyagi's possessions that Daniel found, he may not be the great guy he thought he was. After Daniel punched Johnny, which instantly regretted, Johnny then tells Daniel that he'll come with him to coach the Sekai Taikai for the kids, but that the two of them are done after that and that he doesn't want anything to do with him anymore.
Chozen Toguchi[]
| “ | Your sensei is a man of great honor. I can only hope to be like him. Hey, you only did what your teacher told you to do. After our fight, I felt great shame. I wanted to die. But... my uncle saved me. He gave me a chance to prove myself. I spent my life trying to do just that. But regret is sometimes difficult to overcome. I understand... and if means anything, Chozen... I, I forgive you. It means a great deal. If only every rivalry could end like this. |
„ |
| ~ Chozen and Daniel |
Daniel's former and deadliest rival was in Chozen, as their rivalry began in June of 1985, when Daniel and Miyagi visited Okinawa. Chozen often bullied and harassed Daniel, but Daniel overcame Chosen in the end and ultimately humiliated him by not fulfilling the "fight to the death" pact they had made prior. In 2018, Daniel returned to Okinawa to save his business, where Kumiko orchestrated a reunion between the former enemies. Their reunion was awkward as he still harbored anger. This led to another fight between the two men where Chozen shows Daniel deadlier techniques of Miyagi-Do that Mr. Miyagi hid from him. Chozen beats Daniel and is poised to kill him, only to humorously honk his nose as Daniel did to Chozen years before.
Having changed for the better, Chozen genuinely enjoyed paying Daniel back in such a fashion and dropped his act. Recognizing that Chozen had in fact changed, Daniel received training in pressure points and Chozen provided Daniel with a secret scroll with more information on the technique. Chozen revealed to Daniel that after their fight, he was filled with shame and wanted to die before Sato saved him and helped Chozen become a better man. Daniel offered his forgiveness to Chozen who accepted it, as it meant a lot to him. Daniel admitted to enjoying the friendly end to their rivalry and wished that all of his rivalries could end so well. Daniel later told Kumiko that he and Chozen learned something important from each other as she had hoped. When Daniel lost the 51st karate championships to the cunning Terry Silver and John Kreese, he was meant to close the dojo and hang up his senseiship for good. However, the maniacal ways of Cobra Kai forced Daniel to break his pact and enlist the help of Chozen to end Cobra Kai once and for all.
While working with Daniel against Cobra Kai, Chozen is shown to greatly enjoy helping him and being friends. When Daniel apologizes for what he thinks is a wasted trip, Chozen tells him that it's never wasted to help a friend and the two even discuss the possibility of Daniel's family visiting Chozen in Okinawa at some point. After learning how much Chozen loves Kumiko, Daniel gives his friend relationship advice.
While working alone with Johnny briefly, Chozen and Johnny try to one up each other in stories of how they had bullied Daniel in the past before switching to stories that show their admiration and respect for him. Chozen brings up the mercy that Daniel had showed him in their fight to the death and watching Daniel saving Yuna during a typhoon. When Johnny counters with seeing Daniel defeat John Kreese using the pressure point technique, Chozen laughs and informs Johnny that he had taught Daniel that move.
Ali Mills[]
They first meet on the beach in the first film and become friendly, though this earns the ire of her ex-boyfriend, Johnny. Later in the film, the two would become a couple. However, in Karate Kid II, Daniel tells Miyagi that she left him for a football player at UCLA after the senior prom. Over 30 years later, Daniel tells Johnny that Ali is married and living in Denver working as a pediatric surgeon, according to her Facebook profile. Months later, Daniel, Johnny, and Ali are reunited, and Ali helps the two men reconcile. Daniel and Ali part ways on friendly terms. When Daniel brings up the end of their relationship, Ali tells him that they were kids at the time and the good times that they shared far outweighed the bad.
Terry Silver[]
| “ | That's bullshit, you tortured me. Please. You were a hothead. All I had to do was wind you up and get out of the way. And...if you're being honest with yourself, you know you liked it. You were powerful, free. You just don't wanna admit there's always been a little [Kai] in you. |
„ |
| ~ Daniel and Silver |
Terry personally made Daniel one of his biggest enemies in 1985, after John Kreese recruited Terry to ruin Daniel so they could win the All Valley Karate Tournament. After learning how Daniel and his sensei led to the fall of Cobra Kai, Terry took it upon himself to enact revenge on Daniel for Kreese. He hired Mike Barnes to defeat LaRusso at the All Valley and later made Mike force Daniel to sign an application to the tournament when he refused. Terry and Mike both eventually orchestrated a staged fight where Barnes attacked Daniel so Silver could "rescue" Daniel and gain his trust. Terry became Daniel's sensei in Cobra Kai and turned Daniel against the teachings of Mr. Miyagi. Silver greatly enjoyed seeing Daniel hurt himself with the QuickSilver method, maniacally laughing in secret at the teens pain. He turned Daniel into a violent person and continued to fuel this "killer instinct" when he paid a man to harass Daniel at a nightclub. When Terry finally revealed his true intentions to Daniel, he took great pleasure in seeing him scared and beaten during most of the tournament, as he instructed Mike Barnes to score a point and lose that point over and over so that Daniel would experience more pain until the sudden death round. Daniel ultimately won the tournament and destroyed Terry and Kreese's plan in the process.
Terry's actions left a big impact on Daniel, as even years later, Daniel held traumatic memories of his encounters with Silver. In 2019, Silver returned to the valley at the behest of Kreese and apologized to Daniel for his actions. Daniel refused to accept his apology and wanted Silver to leave everyone alone. The refusal fueled Silver's hatred for Daniel and motivated him even more to destroy the Miyagi-Do's in the upcoming 51st Annual Karate Championships. Daniel saw Silver with the Cobra Kai's and warned his former student Robby Keene of the twisted methods Silver notoriously used. He warned Robby that the strength Silver could provide was amazing, but one day, he would wake up with some innocent kids blood on his shirt and hope it wasn't too late to change. Silver confronted Daniel and the pair had an intense conversation as Silver insisted he did nothing to Daniel but light the spark within. Daniel's always had a little Cobra Kai in him, after all, a statement that made Daniel leave to avoid causing a scene. Despite their complicated history, Daniel stayed away from Silver during training for the tournament but did warn both Johnny and Amanda about Silver's antics in 1985. Jessica Andrews later reveals to Amanda the extent of what Silver did to Daniel and both women think that he never got over the trauma, fueling his obsession in the present.
Following the defeat in the 51st All Valley, Daniel becomes obsessed with taking Silver, falling victim to the man's psychological warfare. He drives his family away as Amanda can't see Daniel's motives for refusing to let the past go. Feeling badly for his actions toward Stingray, Daniel goes to the man's house to make peace, which is paid for by Silver. The man is present and attack Daniel mercilessly, ignoring his attempts to garner peace. After being badly injured by Silver and threatened with death, Daniel gives up the fight just as everyone else is finally ready to join him in it. After Silver is exposed by the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students, he challenges Daniel to a rematch. For once, Daniel goes on the offensive using a combination of Miyagi-Do, Eagle Fang and Cobra Kai techniques and even applying Silver's own QuickSilver training of him to the fight. Daniel defeats Silver who is arrested for his litany of crimes as the Cobra Kai students abandon him. In the aftermath, Daniel and his family and friends celebrate Daniel finally taking down Silver.
John Kreese[]
Daniel's negative impression of Kreese began in 1984, when Kreese's students began to torment Daniel at West Valley High School. Daniel's kindness, yet hot-headed nature and natural karate talent, posed a threat to Kreese's Cobra Kai Dojo. The societal repercussions of Daniel's fights with Johnny had begun to spread across the valley, and Kreese knew that a loss to Daniel and Mr. Miyagi at the All Valley Karate Tournament]] would be detrimental to his business. During the tournament, Kreese told Johnny to target Daniel's injured foot. Despite the cheap tactics used by Cobra Kai dojo, Daniel defeated Johnny in the tournament. Afterward, Kreese attacked Johnny in the parking lot but was stopped by Miyagi. Cobra Kai dojo closed after the tournament. In 1985, Daniel was taken under the leadership of Terry Silver, who manipulated Daniel into being a more ruthless fighter with little regard for others, abandoning the teachings of Miyagi. Daniel became a member of Cobra Kai under the tutelage of Silver, who used violent tactics to not only train Daniel, but abuse him. Silver betrayed Daniel when he revealed an alliance with Kreese, beat Daniel, and abandoned the boy. Kreese and Silver had orchestrated the entire partnership to ruin Daniel's chances in the tournament. Once again, under the sway of Mr. Miyagi, Daniel beat Cobra Kai and their prized fighter. The event forced the dojo to close their doors, sent Kreese on a downward spiral, and allowed Daniel the confidence to become a successful businessman.
Kreese resurfaced 30 years later to work with Johnny Lawrence at a newly reopened Cobra Kai Dojo. Kreese's cruelty against Daniel continued, as he belittled Miyagi and tried to intimidate Daniel repeatedly. Kreese's arrival impacted Daniel greatly, as he became obsessed with beating his childhood tormenters. Most of their feud was reactionary, with one side instigating and the other getting revenge either directly or through their students. After learning Kreese sent his students to attack the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students, which also vandalized Daniel's home, Daniel finally snapped. He confronted Kreese in the dojo and reminded Kreese of the war he wanted at his initial arrival. The fight was bloody and intense but ended with Daniel saving Johnny and defeating Kreese. The three senseis agreed to settle their differences on the mat in the 51st Annual Karate Championships.
Even after having been sent to prison, Kreese's animosity towards Daniel has not faded. When Tory reveals to Kreese that their plan to expose Stingray's lies only ended up getting Daniel hurt by Silver, Kreese sees it as a small victory and calls Daniel a means to an end. Later on, when Daniel and Johnny go to prison to meet Kreese, he expresses no interest in talking to Daniel and only wished to talk to Johnny. Kreese only agrees to help them so long as Daniel helps get Kreese out of prison with his resources, though Daniel tricks him and expresses no interest in helping Kreese leave prison.
Miguel Diaz[]
A lot of fans consider Miguel as a "Modern Daniel LaRusso" because they do share a lot of similarities between one another. Though they haven't interacted for the first two seasons of Cobra Kai, but they have seen each other about numerous times until season 3 they have finally met. Daniel and Miguel have heard about each other and put their positive and negative reviews about what themselves.
Comparison:
- They both have grew up without a father, but they respectively finds their sensei to be their father figure.
- They both have moved to Reseda from somewhere else in the United States:
- Daniel was from Newark, New Jersey
- Miguel was from Riverside, California
- They both have met their future senseis from their apartment complex:
- Daniel has met Mr. Miyagi
- Miguel has met Johnny Lawrence
- They both stood up for their future love interest from their bullies and fought:
- Daniel stood up for Ali Mills from young Johnny Lawrence, but ultimately Daniel gets beaten up by Johnny.
- Miguel stood up for Samantha LaRusso from Kyler, but Miguel ultimately defeats Kyler.
- They both get beaten up by their bullies from something they have accidentally enraged their bullies:
- Daniel put a water hose on young Johnny Lawrence and got chased by Johnny and his gang. He was assaulted really bad by Johnny and his gang in Halloween party.
- Miguel accidentally exposed Kyler and his friends for being underage at a liquor store. Also, Miguel enraged Kyler and friends for kicking him because of mocking Miguel's karate style and his sensei at Halloween party.
- They both get saved by their senseis from bullying.
- They both don't have their Halloween costume, but their sensei's would provide them a better Halloween costume:
- Mr. Miyagi gave Daniel a shower costume
- Johnny gave his old Halloween costume to Miguel a skeleton costume.
- They both offers their senseis to teach them karate, but they reject the offer and later they would think as a change of heart to teach them the style of karate, taught by their former senseis respectively:
- Mr. Miyagi would teach Daniel the art of self-defense.
- Johnny would teach Miguel the art of self-offense.
- They both cleaned up their dojos respectively and questions their sensei about their method of cleaning up.
- They both takes their girlfriends to Golf N' Stuff, taking picture, and later on kissing.
- They both performed the crane kick.
- They both would date their second love interest respectively:
- Daniel would date Kumiko
- Miguel would date Tory
- They both learned drum techniques
- They both punched the harassers on the nose:
- Daniel punched the drunk guy's nose from the nightclub.
- Miguel punched Kyler in the nose in the school canteen.
- They both wanted to compete the second All-Valley tournament to defend their titles.
- They both break the boards
- They both stood up for their senseis' situations
- They have argued with senseis
Trivia[]
- Daniel gives one of these to Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid after having his knee taken out by Bobby, which convinces Mr. Miyagi to use the pressure point healing technique on him to get him back in the tournament.
- Daniel was born in the 60s, just like his actor, Ralph Macchio, who was born in 1961.
- Ralph Macchio, his actor, has never aged. Making his appearance the same in the film.
- Ralph named his son, Daniel, after his character in real life.
- Sean Penn, Robert Downey Jr. Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, Anthony Edwards, Tom Cruise, Eric Stoltz, Matthew Broderick, Michael J. Fox, Keanu Reeves, and John Travolta were all considered for the role of Daniel LaRusso before Ralph Macchio was cast.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Daniel LaRusso on the Wikipedia
- Daniel LaRusso on the Karate Kid Wiki
- Daniel LaRusso on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Daniel LaRusso on the Shonen Heroes Wiki
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The Karate Kid (1984) | ||