The Final Verdict on Asian Representation in ‘Cobra Kai’

February 19, 2025February 20, 2025 Lauren Lola

Nearly seven years after its debut, Cobra Kai has come to an end. The third and final batch of episodes from its sixth and final season dropped on Netflix last Thursday, bringing with it some of the best writing and acting to come out of the entire series, all the while wrapping up loose ends. Did any of it have to do with the show’s dodgy efforts at Asian and Asian American representation? Not at all!

Martial Arts, Streaming2 Comments

The Outrageous Plot Choices and Treatment of Asian Characters in ‘Cobra Kai’

November 20, 2024November 25, 2024 Lauren Lola

WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2.

Cobra Kai is a Netflix title I’ve had a love-hate relationship with since its debut in 2018, initially on YouTube Red.

Interview, Streaming, Television

Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, and Yuji Okumoto on the Final Season of ‘Cobra Kai’

July 17, 2024July 18, 2024 Laura Sirikul

With the anticipated sixth season of Netflix’s Cobra Kai set to premiere Part 1 of their three-part final season, fans are curious about how their favorite characters’ journeys will end.

Martial Arts, Streaming

The Quality of Asian Representation in ‘Cobra Kai’ Season 5

September 16, 2022November 20, 2024 Lauren Lola

WARNING: The following contains spoilers from Season 5 of Cobra Kai.

For five seasons, I’ve been saying the same thing: For a show – and franchise, for that matter – centered on a Japanese martial art, there aren’t a ton of Asian people on the Netflix series, Cobra Kai.

Martial Arts, Movies, Streaming

‘The Paper Tigers’ to Stream on Netflix

August 5, 2021August 5, 2021 Keith Chow

The Paper Tigers, the indie martial arts film starring Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, and Mykel Shannon Jenkins that went from Kickstarter to Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes will culminate its improbable journey on the biggest streaming platform in the world when it debuts on Netflix this Saturday, August 7.

Martial Arts, Movies, Reviews1 Comment

NRW Review: ‘The Paper Tigers’

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021 Patrick Strange

The Paper Tigers starring Alain Uy, Ron Yuan & Mykel Shannon Jenkins arrives in Theaters and On Demand today! I break it down with my squad over at Nerds Rule The World (NRW). BE WARNED: SPOILERS ahead with Rob TheMovieGuy and Big Boy Eskrimador!

Interview, Martial Arts, Movies

NOC Exclusive Interview: ‘The Paper Tigers’ Stars, Alain Uy and Mykel Shannon Jenkins

May 6, 2021May 6, 2021 Patrick Strange

Heyyy! It’s Kuya P back again with another NOC EXCLUSIVE! I recently sat down for a conversation with the stars of The Paper Tigers: Alain Uy & Mykel Shannon Jenkins! The Paper Tigers hits Theaters and On Demand May 7th!

Martial Arts, Movies, Streaming1 Comment

‘Cobra Kai’ Has Got to Step Up Its Representation Game in Season 3

July 23, 2019August 30, 2021 Lauren Lola

The 50th San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, and this year, the stars of the YouTube Premium series, Cobra Kai, were in attendance. For two seasons already, viewers of this continuation of The Karate Kid franchise have been following the rivalry of Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) via their feuding dojos. Continue reading “‘Cobra Kai’ Has Got to Step Up Its Representation Game in Season 3”

Movies

Download Awesome Asian Bad Guys Right Now!

June 23, 2015June 23, 2015 Keith Chow

Today’s the day! If you’ve wanted to watch Stephen Dypiangco and Patrick Epino — better known as the National Film Society — reunite iconic Asian bad guys from the ’80s in the action/comedy Awesome Asian Bad Guys, but couldn’t attend one of the many festival screenings, now is your chance to download the film and watch it in the comfort of your own home.

Continue reading “Download Awesome Asian Bad Guys Right Now!”

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies2 Comments

Awesome Asian Bad Guys with Yuji Okumoto and the National Film Society

April 4, 2014July 14, 2015 The Nerds of Color

Keith (@the_real_chow) brings on Stephen (@Dypiangco) and Patrick (@PatrickEpino) of the National Film Society (@NatFilmSociety) and Yuji Okumoto (Chozen from The Karate Kid II) to talk about their latest project, the webseries Awesome Asian Bad Guys!

Continue reading “Awesome Asian Bad Guys with Yuji Okumoto and the National Film Society”

Martial Arts, Movies15 Comments

NOCs of the Roundtable: Favorite Asian Bad Guys

April 3, 2014October 31, 2017 Keith Chow

This week on Hard N.O.C. Life, I’ll be interviewing our buddies Stephen and Patrick from the National Film Society. They just premiered their Kickstarted webseries Awesome Asian Bad Guys to packed houses last week during CAAMFest in San Francisco, and I was lucky enough to have them on to talk about the series. In addition to the NFS guys, I’ll also be speaking with Yuji Okumoto, aka Chozen from The Karate Kid II.

All this talk about Awesome Asian Bad Guys got me thinking about which iconic Asian villains are most beloved by the NOCs. So we assembled around the old roundtable and shared our own Awesome Asian Bad Guys.

Continue reading “NOCs of the Roundtable: Favorite Asian Bad Guys”