 |
This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue.
That is all. |
Daniel LaRusso is the titular main protagonist of The Karate Kid franchise.
In the first three films, Daniel had to deal with vicious bullies while he was helped by his kindly mentor Mr. Miyagi who he was incredibly loyal to. In Cobra Kai, Daniel displays more corrupting traits but remains a kind and selfless man at heart.
He is potrayed by Ralph Macchio.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Admirable?[]
The Karate Kid[]
- He defended Ali Mills from Johnny Lawrence after he broke her radio.
- By defeating Johnny at the All Valley, his actions led to all of John Kreese's students deserting him and being free of his corrupting influence.
The Karate Kid II[]
- He used the money meant for his college fund to accompany Miyagi when he went to visit his sick father and comforted him when he died.
- He risked his life to save a young girl from a storm.
- He saved Kumiko from Chozen and spared the latter after defeating him.
- He used his ice-breaking winnings to open a bonsai tree store for Miyagi, which had always been his dream.
The Karate Kid III[]
- He quit training with Cobra Kai when he realised it was corrupting him.
- He thwarted Terry Silver's plans to expand Cobra Kai by defeating Mike Barnes at the All Valley.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 1[]
- He tried to be a good father to both his son Anthony and daughter Sam, and taught Sam karate so she knew how to defend herself, as well as trying to be a good husband to his wife Amanda.
- He treats his employees at LaRusso Auto with respect and kindness in contrast to Tom Cole, who sees those under him as a means to line his pockets and treats them like dirt.
- After finding out about Johnny's troubled childhood he gained sympathy for him and the two almost ended their rivalry.
- Though he was mad with the fact that Robby didn't tell him he was Johnny's son, he ultimately forgave him and even encouraged him to forgive his father, despite his issues with Johnny.
- Comforted Robby when he lost the All Valley to Miguel.
Season 2[]
- He helped Robby with his difficult home life by taking him in and letting him stay with him and his family.
- Saved Robby from Trey and Cruz.
- When he and Robby run into Johnny at the hardware store he leaves them alone, genuinely hoping they'll be able to reconcile despite still disliking Johnny at that point.
- He was a patient and supportive mentor to Demetri, which led to him becoming a competent martial artist, despite how much he struggled at first.
- He allowed Cobra Kai students who defected to join Miyagi-Do, despite his students being against it.
- After meeting running into Johnny at a restaurant they were able to bond and agreed to put their differences aside, even if it didn't last.
- He paid for the rehab of Robby's mother Shannon.
Season 3[]
- Forgave his cousin Louie for destroying Johnny's car and let him have his job back after Louie visited Sam in hospital.
- He tried to help Sam cope with the trauma she had from her fight at school with Tory Nichols.
- Teamed up with Johnny to find Robby after he went on the run.
- Though he turned on Robby, he was acting with good intentions, as he was trying to get him a lesser sentence and paid the fees for his lawyer.
- After seeing that Chozen had really changed, Daniel forgave him, even though he tried to kill him in the past.
- When Robby gets out of prison, Daniel tries to bring him back to Miyagi Do.
- As Kreese had put up a snake on his shop (that could had been venomous), he made sure to evacuate all of his workers.
- He saved Johnny from being killed by Kreese.
Season 4[]
- He helped Miguel fixed his mother's car and taught him how to drive.
- He dismissed his son's behavior when he saw him becoming a bully against Kenny.
- Tried to redeem Robby and convince him to leave Cobra Kai.
- He encouraged Hawk to use both Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai moves to defeat Robby in the finals.
Season 5[]
- Honored his word to close down Miyagi-Do in order to protect his students from having a target on their backs and get put in danger from Cobra Kai.
- He forgave Mike Barnes after seeing he had reformed.
- After destroying Stingray's playstation he felt guilty and bought him a new one to make up for it.
- He encouraged Chozen to talk to Kumiko, insisting he deserved to be happy after all he had done to redeem himself.
- Refused to fight the Cobra Kai students due to their age.
Season 6[]
- Tried to stop Johnny and Chozen from fighting.
- Helped Johnny by getting Chozen to come with him when he was looking for an apartment.
- He comforted Chozen about Kumiko not returning his feelings.
- He stopped the fight between Sam and Tory after learning the Tory's mother died, out of concern for the latter (though this led Tory to rejoin Cobra Kai and resulted in a new rift between him and Johnny).
- Despite the recent tensions between him and Johnny, he thanked him for the voicemail he sent from the other day when he missed the previous Sekai Taikai event due to his kidnapping.
- He's supportive of Johnny when Johnny tells him Carmen has been taken to hospital and genuinely promises to take care of everything until he gets back.
- He went with Johnny and Chozen’s plan to mess with Kreese and Silver’s minds, by making them accuse each other for stealing Kreese’s eunjangdo knife.
- He reconciled with Johnny after Miguel reminds them of their past success and everything they’ve done together.
- He and Johnny team up to fight Sensei Wolf during the Sekai Taikai all-out brawl.
- He tried to stop Kwon Jae-Sung from killing Axel Kovacevic with Kreese’s eunjangdo knife.
- He checked on Kwon’s body to see if he’s okay when the latter accidentally killed himself.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He has some lethal moments, as he was prepared to kill Kreese in the Season 3 finale, but stopped himself because of Miguel and Sam. But Kreese was trying to kill him first, so this is a minor prevention.
- While his childhood tragedy from Cobra Kai can explain his aggressive refusal to open the dojo again, it still made him an extremist, as he tried to manipulate Johnny's landlord into raising the rent to attempt to put him out of business, which also could have hurt or even shut down businesses that had nothing to do with the conflict.
- On some moment, he did a round-kicking to his business rival Tom Cole's bubble coffee cup, after the latter underestimated that he knows how to fight karate. Even if this wasn't deadly, it's still too prideful.
- He is very impulsive and quick to anger, as he reopened the opposition to Johnny, who stopped being a bully; didn't give Robby a chance to explain himself after he tried to hide a drunk Sam at Johnny's house and nearly opened a fight against Johnny. His anger also caused him to fall into manipulation of his enemies: he insulted Ali Mills when Johnny forced her to kiss with him, broke a kid's nose in the third movie as part of Silver's plan, and lost his temper against Silver in front of his wife's business meeting by trying to break his hand. He also punched Johnny in the nose when he called Mr. Miyagi a liar and a thief after he discovered why Daniel's been acting strange.
- He was a neglectful parent to Anthony, which contributed to him becoming a bully. Although, he eventually makes up for it by disciplining him, making this a minor prevention.
External Links[]
- Daniel LaRusso on the Heroes Wiki
- Daniel LaRusso on the Karate Kid Wiki
- Daniel LaRusso on the Wikipedia
- Daniel LaRusso on the Shonen Heroes Wiki