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In Cobra Kai’s third season — which is set to be released on January 1 on Netflix — Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) returns to his sensei and friend Mr. Miyagi’s hometown, located in Okinawa, Japan. It appears that while on his trip, Daniel runs into his former flame Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) and his nemesis Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Don Okumoto), who were both featured in The Karate Kid Part II, as reported by Comic Book.
Chozen Antagonized Daniel in The Karate Kid Part II
Fans of the Karate Kid films are aware that Chozen acts as an antagonist in the movie franchise’s second installment. As noted by Screen Rant, the character has a strong distaste for Daniel, mainly because his uncle Sato Toguchi (Danny Kamekona) had a long-standing rivalry with Miyagi. While Sato and Miyagi were once close, their friendship dissolved after Miyagi expressed romantic interest in Yukie (Nobu McCarthy), who Sato had planned on marrying. Toward the end of The Karate Kid Part II, Daniel and Chozen battle each other after the latter threatens Kumito by holding a knife to her throat. Daniel ends up winning the intense battle but does not take Chozen’s life, despite the fact it was agreed upon that they would fight until one of them died.
While it is unclear what role the martial artist, who trained under his uncle, will play in Cobra Kai’s upcoming season, he may end up becoming an unlikely ally to Daniel, noted Screen Rant. The publication surmised that he could even work alongside the owner of LaRusso Auto Group, as karate instructors.
Yuji Don Okumoto Has Stated His Character “Has Gone Through a Lot of Soul Searching”
In a December 2020 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Yuji Don Okumoto seemed to confirm that his character has seen the errors of his ways since the events of The Karate Kid Part II transpired.
“Chozen has gone through a lot of soul searching after losing his fight with Daniel. I think that he saw the light, and — this is just my take — I think through the dedication that he put into getting back into martial arts for the right reasons, I think he started to understand what the true meaning of martial arts is, and what the true meaning of honor is,” said the actor.
During the same interview, Okumoto revealed that he shared his thoughts about Chozen’s possible lifepath with the creators of Cobra Kai, stating,
I wrote his backstory and history. It’s funny, because when the Cobra Kai people came to me, I actually had all this stuff still recorded, and I had a nice discussion and gave them my input about what had happened to him possibly after the final showdown with him and Daniel. So I think when people see the end scene between Chozen and Daniel, I think they will be satisfied with that closer.
In addition, Comic Book reported that a Cobra Kai Season 3 clip, which features Chozen and Daniel having a conversation, was released on Netflix’s YouTube Channel. In the scene, Chozen refers to Daniel as a “foreigner” and accuses him of attempting to steal the dojo’s “secrets.”
Daniel responds to the accusations by saying, “Mr. Miyagi treated me like a son, not a foreigner. He wouldn’t keep secrets from me.”
Chozen implies that Daniel is wrong in his assessment of his late mentor and ominously replies, “Are you sure about that.”
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