Comedy
Cobra Kai
The Gen X-targeted nostalgia bait revisits Daniel and Johnny’s rivalry from The Karate Kid … 34 years later.
Ever since he can remember, Jin Kazama has been raised in the Kazama fighting style by his mother, Jun. Though Jun’s teachings have made Jin strong in a fistfight, she also reminds him that his power should always be used for good.
“Sometimes life calls for defense, sometimes for offense,” Jun says. “Promise me you’ll always know when to use which.”
But one day, a demon named Ogre attacks their peaceful home, and Jun sets out to defend them—ultimately sacrificing herself in an explosion to save her son. Jin is sent fleeing to find his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, in order to be trained in much more ruthless Mishima fighting style so that he can kill Ogre and avenge his mother. In order to draw out Ogre (who is also known as the “God of Fighting”), Heihachi organizes the third King of Iron Fist Tournament, where the world’s top fighters will compete for the title.
But Jin has a long way to go if he wants to be able to stand a chance against these competitors, let alone Ogre. And with the ruthlessness of his supernatural opponent ever looming over Jin, it’ll take a lot of willpower to win—and a lot more to maintain his humanity.
In the days of Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, there arose another popular fighting game: Tekken (lit. “Iron Fist”), which graced the video game industry with hand-to-hand combat in all of its 3D glory. The seven-game series primarily centers around conflict in the Mishima family, a clan that always hosts the King of Iron Fist Tournament, a martial arts competition featuring the strongest fighters. The series is filled with unique electric-like punches, lots of people being thrown off cliffs and even a bear trained in martial arts.
Netflix’s Tekken: Bloodline follows the general storyline from Tekken 3. For those who played the 1997 fighting game, the six-episode season will feel very familiar—albeit with much less button mashing.
As you might expect, there’s a lot of punches and kicks thrown in this series, and characters get bloodied and bruised. Outfits can hug curves and show skin. A central plot point focuses on defeating a demon. A few characters also hold the “Devil Gene” within them, a demonic supernatural power which temporarily grants the cursed a superpowered sort of fallen angel status.
The TV-14 show’s biggest drawback, of course, will be that vague spiritual connection with the demonic (which can apparently be defeated through enough well-placed punches—who would’ve thought?). But honestly, true to its gaming counterpart, the series feels more like an excuse for people to watch epic fight scene after epic fight scene.
Jin Kazama lives a peaceful life with Jun as she teaches him proper fighting style as well as the difference between right and wrong. However, when a supernatural entity appears, Jun tells Jin to train under his ruthless grandfather.
Bullies beat up Jin, and Jin is seen scratched up and with a bloody nose. Jin retaliates, knocking one boy’s tooth out and beating up the others. Jin also trains with his mother and later with his grandfather, absorbing a couple of blows.
A drunk man confronts Jin and Jun, and he smashes a bottle to use as a weapon before Jun incapacitates him. A demon named Ogre attacks Jin and Jun, punching, kicking and choking them.
A house burns down, and an explosion occurs, killing Jun.
“Screwed” is used once.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
The Gen X-targeted nostalgia bait revisits Daniel and Johnny’s rivalry from The Karate Kid … 34 years later.
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