COBRA KAI: THE COMPLETE SERIES (Blu-ray Review)
Time hasn’t neatly resolved anything for Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) or Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). Their old rivalry still lingers, evolving through adulthood, complete with the regret and stubbornness which accompanies getting older. For both, there’s the sense that life didn’t turn out the way they had hoped. Cobra Kai blends that history smoothly with new stories.
Series ★★★☆☆
Johnny is living in a small apartment in Reseda, barely holding things together. He clings to the past too much and views teaching karate to his teenage neighbor Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) as a way to reclaim something from his youth. Johnny wants to help the kid, but doesn’t really know how.
Johnny constantly reveals how stuck he is in time, offering advice that feels frozen in the 1980s.
From the outside, Daniel looks like he figured life out, running a successful chain of car dealerships and living comfortably with his wife Amanda (Courtney Henggeler), and raises two children, Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Anthony (Griffin Santopietro).
Daniel still has the reputation of karate champion, which ties him to the past as much as Johnny, albeit in a different way. The teachings of his late mentor Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita, who appears through memories and archival footage), shapes nearly everything he does.
Daniel and Johnny’s interactions are where the show really sparks. They attempt to work together, but pride and old habits keep interfering.
The younger cast prevents the series from becoming pure nostalgia. Miguel, Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), Samantha, Tory Nichols (Peyton List), Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz (Jacob Bertrand), and Demetri Alexopoulos (Gianni DeCenzo) all develop their own arcs across the show.
Miguel begins as a shy kid who gains confidence through Johnny’s training, while Robby, Johnny’s estranged son, initially joins Daniel’s Miyagi Do dojo partly out of anger toward his father. Rivalries inevitably shift as friendships fracture and loyalties change.
Season one keeps things tight and focused. Season two widens the conflict as Daniel opens Miyagi Do and John Kreese (Martin Kove) returns, pushing Cobra Kai back toward its ruthless roots. Season three deals with the fallout. Miguel struggles to recover from injuries, Johnny tries to make things right, and Daniel reconnects with his past during a trip to Japan where he reunites with Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) and former rival Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto).
Season four focuses on Johnny and Daniel attempting to combine their dojos to defeat Cobra Kai at the next tournament, a partnership that produces as many arguments as it does progress. Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), the manipulative antagonist from The Karate Kid Part III, returns and becomes a major threat as he pushes Cobra Kai in a darker direction. Season five has Johnny traveling to Mexico searching for Miguel, while Daniel and Chozen try to expose Silver as he expands Cobra Kai into something far bigger than it was before. By the time the sixth season arrives, the story has grown into a global competition with the Sekai Taikai tournament, introducing new opponents and raising the stakes for the students.
Video ★★★☆☆
Encoding: AVC MPEG-4
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Clarity/Detail: The level of detail and clarity is outstanding in every season. Compared to their initial television broadcasts, this IS the penultimate way to experience Cobra Kai. If you watch with eagle eyes, you’ll notice all the little details in the background. The image is a bit brighter, textures are more apparent, and the image showcases much more dimension.
Depth: Because of the clarity and sharpness of the image, the onscreen characters all have that three-dimensional pop we know and love. Depth of field is pretty solid, with some good pushback and spacing, equal in both the interiors and exteriors. Movements are natural, smooth and have no issues with distortions.
Black Levels: Black levels are all deep, solid and inky throughout. Hair follicles, surface texture, clothing patterns and more all retain their finer details. No crushing witnessed.
Color Reproduction: This show relishes in its bright, vivid colors that pop right up off your screen with no issues regarding any bleeding or such. They are plenty well saturated and showcased lovely reds, greens, blues and yellows.
Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish of the film. Facial features and textures are easily discernible from any reasonable distance in the frame.
Noise/Artifacts: There are no banding issues, noise or any other nasty anomaly to complain about here.
Audio ★★★☆☆
Audio Format(s): English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Dynamics: Cobra Kai provides some terrific surround for the show which wonderfully compliments the spirit presented on screen. It features a top notch balance of vocals, music and sound effects to give a real genuine feel to every scene. It packs a punch when it’s called upon to do so.
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer does an above average job of grabbing the booms of music, crashing, punches, kicks, and more. Not overbearing, but not a slouch either.
Surround Sound Presentation: A lot of this hangs out up front, but it is pretty sly with some good environmental building sounds with unique contributions from the rear speakers. Music, crowds, action scenes and full arenas do get more playful with intensity, off screen awareness and travel.
Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp with good attention to diction and actor mouth sounds and inflections. Always plenty present without upstaging from the quietest room to the loudest pandemonium.
Extras ★★★☆☆
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- SEASON ONE:
- NEW BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE: Commentary on the Pilot with Show Creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
- Deleted Scenes, 2 Featurettes, 2 Musical Performances
- SEASON TWO
- Deleted Scenes, 5 Featurettes, Blooper Reel
- SEASON THREE
- Deleted Scenes, Blooper Reel
- SEASON FOUR
- Deleted Scenes, Blooper Reel, Featurette
- SEASON FIVE
- Deleted Scenes, Blooper Reel
- SEASON SIX:
- NEW BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE: Commentary on the Series Finale with Show Creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
- Deleted Scenes, Blooper Reel
- SEASON ONE:
Summary ★★★☆☆
Beneath the tournaments, rivalries, and fight scenes, the story is really about growth taking longer than one may have expected. The show may thrive on nostalgia, but what makes it memorable is how much it cares about the people at its center. If you’re a fan, this is a must own.
