Cobra Kai: Kumiko Proved Why She Was Daniel’s Best Movie Girlfriend

Warning: SPOILERS for Cobra Kai Season 3

It took until Cobra Kai season 3 for Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) to appear but she was worth the wait, proving exactly why she was Daniel LaRusso’s (Ralph Macchio) best movie girlfriend. Cobra Kai seasons 1 and 2 have thoroughly and enjoyably delved into The Karate Kid movie lore, but the show’s Los Angeles setting made getting characters from The Karate Kid Part II, which was set in Okinawa, to pop up on the show would be a challenge.

Kumiko was Daniel-san’s summer 1985 romance. He met her when he accompanied his sensei, Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita), to his hometown in Okinawa in The Karate Kid Part II. Conveniently, Kumiko was the same age as Daniel and she was the niece of Yukie (Nobu McCarthy), Miyagi’s lost love he reunited with. Kumiko and Daniel-san hit it off as well and fell for each other, even as they were all being harassed by Sato Toguchi (Danny Kamekona), Miyagi’s best friend who wanted to fight him to the death over a misguided matter of honor, and Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), Sato’s nephew who became LaRusso’s new enemy. Daniel and Kumiko got serious quickly; they bonded during a Japanese tea ceremony, and she got caught in the middle of Chozen challenging LaRusso to a fight to the death, which Daniel won, defending himself and Kumiko’s honor. While Daniel and Kumiko talked about her joining him in California to pursue her dream of being a dancer, she got an opportunity to dance in Tokyo, and they broke up before LaRusso and Miyagi returned home to LA.

Cobra Kai season 3 finally solved their Karate Kid Part II conundrum by having Daniel travel to Japan to try to save his car dealership from bankruptcy and take a side trip to Okinawa to look for help. Fortuitously, Daniel reunited with Kumiko and, despite over 30 years of them losing touch, their old chemistry instantly kicked in. Happily, Kumiko found success as a dancer, which took her all over the world before she returned home to Okinawa to care for her aunt, who is now deceased. Unlike Daniel, however, Kumiko never married and had a family; she remains “a free agent,” in Daniel’s words, because while she had many potential suitors, none of them ever fought to the death to defend her.

Kumiko wasn’t just a welcome and friendly face, however, and she came to Daniel’s rescue a total of three times in the two Cobra Kai season 3 episodes she appeared in. First, Kumiko helped the wayward Daniel-san reconnect with the spirit of Mr. Miyagi; by letting him read the love letters Miyagi wrote Yukie before he died, LaRusso got to see the romantic side of his sensei he never knew, which brought him to tears. With Kumiko’s help, Daniel also got refocused in Okinawa, which he needed since she recognized he was out of sorts and in distress.

Next, Kumiko shocked Daniel by contacting Chozen, who engaged in an elaborate prank where he made LaRusso think they were still enemies when Toguchi was really there to help Daniel-san and ask for his forgiveness for what went down back in 1985. A fellow Miyagi-Do sensei himself, Chozen was able to connect Daniel with a side of their karate system LaRusso never knew about, and he imparted an important Miyagi-Do secret for Daniel to take back to LA. Most importantly, LaRusso and Chozen buried the hatchet and became friends, all thanks to Kumiko brokering their truce.

Finally, Kumiko arranged for the rescue of Daniel’s car dealership. Daniel hit a dead end in Tokyo trying to convince Doyona Motors to stick with the LaRusso Auto Group instead of continuing the exclusive deal they had signed with his rival, Tom Cole’s dealership. But Kumiko contacted Yuna (Traci Toguchi), who turned out to be the little girl Daniel saved during a typhoon in The Karate Kid Part II. Now all grown up, Yuna is the Senior Vice President of Sales for Doyona International, and she was delighted to repay Daniel-san by saving his family’s business. Kumiko really saved the day, asking for nothing in return. However, the fact that she hinted at a possible romantic interest in Daniel-San could pose trouble down the line for his marriage. Hopefully, season 3 won’t be the last time Kumiko appears in Cobra Kai.

Cobra KaiSeason 3 is available to stream on Netflix.

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