Cobra Kai has "all but divorced the story of The Karate Kid from its Asianness, or even its Asian-Americanness"

Vanity Fair

The Karate Kid was a landmark film for Asian-American representation with the late Pat Morita's Oscar-nominated performance as Mr. Miyagi. "Miyagi couldn’t be brought back to cameo on Cobra Kai; Morita died in 2005," says Sonia Soraiya. "But oddly—even glaringly, for a show contingent on a centuries-old Japanese martial art—Cobra Kai still has almost no Asian characters. One, played by Joe Seo, is Kyler, the bully that Danny’s daughter dates. When the LaRussos have him over for dinner, Danny tries to show off by serving sashimi. He’s confounded to realize that Kyler prefers fish sticks, and doesn’t really care much for Japanese things more generally. It’s a funny character beat—we are not our stereotypes—but a dispiriting one too. Danny LaRusso, Italian kid from Jersey, is the most Japanese character on this show."