Chozen Is Officially Karate Kid’s Best Fighter Since Mr. Miyagi

Warning: SPOILERS for Cobra Kai Season 5In Cobra Kai season 5, Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto) emerges as the best fighter in the “Miyagiverse” since Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita) himself. Picking up where Cobra Kai season 4 left off, season 5 sees Chozen come to the San Fernando Valley to help Daniel LaRusso stop Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) and Cobra Kai’s takeover of every karate dojo in the San Fernando Valley. Naturally, Chozen’s martial arts skills are tested to their limits, and Cobra Kai season 5 proves that he’s the best karate fighter in the show, just as Mr. Miyagi was in The Karate Kid movies.

Chozen’s story in Cobra Kai season 5 completes his remarkable character turnaround since his introduction as the villain in The Karate Kid Part II. Back in the summer of 1985, Chozen was the dishonorable nephew of Sato (Danny Kamekona), the richest man in Okinawa and the former best friend-turned-enemy of Mr. Miyagi. Chozen hounded Daniel-san and his girlfriend Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) and tried to humiliate LaRusso. When Chozen was exposed as a coward after he refused to help Daniel save a girl during a typhoon, Toguchi tried to regain his honor by fighting LaRusso to the death. But Daniel-san won their fight, and Chozen was disgraced. Fast-forward to Cobra Kai season 3, and Chozen returned a changed man. Now a Miyagi-Do sensei, Chozen reconciled with Daniel. Now, in order to fight Terry Silver, LaRusso turned to his “karate cousin” Chozen to be his ace-in-the-hole.

Chozen squares off with Terry Silver several times in Cobra Kai season 5, and it’s electrifying to see the villains from The Karate Kid Parts II and III now become enemies. Toguchi briefly infiltrated Cobra Kai as a sensei until Silver exposed him, but Chozen proved his mettle by soundly thrashing a half-dozen of the Valley’s best karate teachers. Meanwhile, Chozen’s team-up with Daniel-san offers Cobra Kai‘s heartwarming new spin on LaRusso’s classic relationship with the late Mr. Miyagi. Chozen comfortably slips into the Miyagi role as Daniel’s best friend, and he is a true blue ally to the entire LaRusso family. While Chozen shares plenty of amusing insight and wisdom with Daniel-san, it’s his Miyagi-Do karate skills that shine and is reminiscent of Mr. Miyagi in Cobra Kai season 5.

Mr. Miyagi Is Acknowledged As The Best Fighter In The Karate Kid/Cobra Kai Universe

Cobra Kai holds Mr. Miyagi’s memory as Daniel-san’s mentor and best friend sacred, as it should. It’s easy to forget, however, that Mr. Miyagi also found himself in a number of fights in The Karate Kid movies, and the Okinawan karate master won them all easily. Miyagi saved Daniel and soundly thrashed Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and the rest of the Cobra Kai in The Karate Kid. At the start of The Karate Kid Part II, Miyagi effortlessly defeated John Kreese (Martin Kove) and humbled Cobra Kai’s sensei. In Okinawa, Miyagi stepped in to save Daniel again to send Chozen and his henchmen packing. Had Mr. Miyagi fought Sato to the death as Mr. Toguchi originally intended, the smart money was on Mr. Miyagi to win.

Arguably Mr. Miyagi’s best fight was in The Karate Kid Part III when he saved Daniel-san once more by beating all three Cobra Kai bad guys himself. Miyagi tossed Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) out the door of the Cobra Kai dojo, and he took out John Kreese once again in their rematch. Even Terry Silver, who was in his prime, couldn’t do anything against Mr. Miyagi. In fact, no one in any of The Karate Kid movies ever laid a hand on Mr. Miyagi in a fight. Daniel-san’s mentor was untouchable, and that’s part of Mr. Miyagi’s legacy in Cobra Kai.

Chozen Is The Next Best Thing To Mr. Miyagi in Cobra Kai

Chozen is full of helpful advice to Daniel-san in Cobra Kai, like when he reminded LaRusso that his family is his strength and that Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) would return even though she was mad at him. But Daniel flew Chozen in because his karate cousin is fearless and is the best warrior he knows. Toguchi lived up to his reputation as “gasoline — Boom!” In some ways, to a fault, like when Chozen misunderstood Daniel’s reunion with Mike Barnes, and he soundly thrashed Barnes’ employees before attacking “Karate’s Bad Boy.” But the sai-wielding Okinawan was incredible teaming up with Barnes and Johnny in Cobra Kai season 5’s finale. All of Daniel’s former Karate Kid movie rivals joined forces to invade Terry Silver’s home and take on his international senseis from The Way of the Fist, and they ultimately won the fight.

Although Chozen was seriously injured and lost to Terry Silver, it’s because he was actually fighting drunk from a night partying with the LaRussos, and he was already pushed to his limits from taking on The Way of the Fist to get to Silver, the final boss. Still, Chozen acquitted himself well against Silver in their sais vs. katana swordfight, and Toguchi only fell because Terry stacked the odds in his favor. Placed in the same circumstances, even Mr. Miyagi’s perfect record may have been blemished in Cobra Kai season 5, but Chozen proved he’s the next best thing to Mr. Miyagi. Hopefully, Chozen sticks around – and confesses his love for Kumiko, who is the niece of Miyagi’s love, Yukie (Nobu McCarthy) – in Cobra Kai season 6.

Cobra Kai Season 5 is available to stream on Netflix.