Fans of Cobra Kai have fallen in love with the series’ colorful cast of compelling and entertaining characters. This is one of the show’s biggest strengths and is the reason Cobra Kai is as popular as it is.
Watching these characters interact, especially The Karate Kid legacy characters like Johnny and Daniel, is as fun as it is heartbreaking due to the complexity of their relationships with one another. From a parent-child bond like Miguel and Carmen’s to the rivalry-based connection between Johnny and Daniel, this list will break down some fan-favorite relationships from the series.
Miguel And Robby
Miguel and Robby are initially rivals only because they’re both interested in Sam, and then end up in rival karate dojos under rival sensei. The rivalry that exists between Johnny and Daniel trickles down to influence their own feelings about one another as they can’t see eye-to-eye on anything.
Their rivalry helps to form the backbone of a lot of the earlier seasons, but they also truly respect one another as fighters, not unlike Daniel and Johnny. By Season 5, the two understand one another much better, and are even friends, on their way to being family. The growth of their relationship throughout the series is one of the best aspects of it.
Demetri And Eli
Demetri and Eli have been friends forever, but all that changes with the introduction of Cobra Kai karate to their lives. While Demetri balks at the violence in the dojo, Eli embraces it to become “Hawk,” putting them on opposite sides of the fight. They hit their lowest point when Hawk breaks Demetri’s arm in a confrontation, but they still find a way to repair their friendship.
Once Eli realizes how far he’s gone, it’s Demetri who helps him see that he can still have Hawk’s confidence without his toxicity, and help bring the newly combined team of fighters to victory. Eli believes in Demetri’s skills, even when Demetri doesn’t believe in himself as well. Their support for one another after having gone through so much is admirable.
Robby And Kenny
When Kenny needs help with a bully at school, it’s Robby, the boy who beat up his big brother, that he turns to for help. Kenny goes down the Cobra Kai rabbit hole to become a violent bully himself though.
No matter how badly Kenny treats others though, Robby always tries to find a way to get through to him. Robby never gives up on Kenny getting free of the Cobra Kai influence, and he spends two seasons mentoring him and trying to help him before Kenny understands. It’s one of the best mentor-mentee relationships in the show outside of Johnny and Miguel.
Moon, Sam, And Yasmine
Because there are so many male characters in the show, female friendship doesn’t get the spotlight very often. Though Yasmine and Moon are initially mean girls when Sam becomes friends with them, they’ve both grown and changed their ways since their introduction. Some of that is Sam’s influence; some of that is witnessing first hand the dangers of a big rivalry.
Moon, Sam, and Yasmine are incredibly different people. Moon and Yasmine would never be caught in a karate gi, for example. Sam and Yasmine don’t always understand Moon’s New Age ideas either. The three of them somehow work as a close-knit group of friends though. They support one another at big events, spend days at the spa together, and try to help one another get through tough times, even if they don’t entirely understand them.
Tory And Robby
Tory is one of the most fascinating characters in the series - and she didn’t join the show until Season 2. While she, of course, has a rivalry with Sam, she’s also got a whole lot going on in her life that Sam doesn’t know about when the two first clash. Part of that rivalry stems from their interest in the same boys.
While Tory and Miguel’s relationship doesn’t last, she and Robby develop a friendship born from their leadership roles in Cobra Kai that blossoms into a romantic relationship. Even when the two of them find themselves in different dojos, they respect one another’s decisions and find ways to work together. They can recognize when they’re being selfish, apologize, and move on, unlike some of the other couples in the show. They have a great rapport on and off the mat.
Raymond “Stingray” And All Of Cobra Kai Dojo
While Stingray, played by the talented Paul Walter Hauser, doesn’t have nearly as much depth as most of the cast, he’s still a wildly entertaining character that brings plenty of laughs every time he’s on-screen.
Stingray molds well with everyone in Cobra Kai dojo, being able to find a place among his teenage peers as a grown adult. Sadly, Stingray established a relationship with Kreese and turned against Johnny, and then wanted so badly to be accepted by the version of Cobra Kai that replaced Kreese that he allowed Silver to control his life. This is one relationship fans don’t approve of.
Johnny And Carmen
While Johnny can be a lot to deal with at times, at his core he’s a good man who deserves a little bit of happiness in his life. The same goes for Carmen, raising Miguel as a single mother after escaping a presumably unhealthy relationship with Miguel’s father.
These two are adorable together, with Carmen serving as exactly the type of no-nonsense woman Johnny needs in his life to balance him. Miguel’s tragic accident briefly drove a wedge between Johnny and Carmen, but the duo were able to come back together.
Moon And Eli “Hawk”
This relationship is a bit divisive among the fan base, and for good reason, as Hawk arcs from a bullied kid that the audience sympathizes with to a bully who begins tormenting his former best friend.
Consider this though. Prior to Moon and Hawk dating, Moon was a bit of a “mean girl” who would take pleasure in putting down others, while Hawk lacked any form of confidence and self-respect. Upon meeting each other though, these two change into better versions of themselves. Although Hawk later becomes a bully, this does not reflect on his relationship with Moon, as she breaks up with him upon realizing the type of person Hawk has turned into. They also find their way back to each other when Eli realizes how far his Hawk persona has taken him and decides to change.
Amanda And Daniel
Daniel is a bit of a showboater who likes rubbing his success in Johnny’s face. He’s also somewhat petty and can’t stand to see his rival prosper with his dojo. Similar to Johnny’s relationship with Carmen, Amanda is a strong-willed woman who has zero patience for a husband who wastes his time on pointless rivalries.
Their relationship together is important, as Amanda serves as an anchor for Daniel when he gets too lost in his competitive spirit. She’s always there to help remind him of what’s truly important in life.
Aisha And Sam
Aisha leaving between Seasons 2 and 3 felt like a major loss to the series, but she maintained her friendship with Sam off-screen as Sam is able to seek her out for advice in later seasons. Aisha is a fan-favorite character fans can only hope to see again.
Sam and Aisha’s relationship is one of the few female friendships in the series. Their falling out because of Sam’s choice in friends, and then later the rivalry between their dojos, is sad and fans want nothing more than to see these two come back together.
Miguel And Carmen
Carmen always puts Miguel first. She fled their home country with Miguel to escape an unhealthy relationship with her husband. The emotions and trauma behind that is something that most of the audience can only imagine.
Seeing Miguel and Carmen together though, it’s not easy to tell that their origins in America come from such hardship. This is a testament to their relationship together, leaning on each other as mother and son and serving as an emotional rock for one another.
Daniel And Robby
With his essentially nonexistent relationship with his dad, Robby is desperate for a father figure in his life whether he realizes it or not. Like any troubled kid, Robby just needs some guidance and someone who actively cares about him. That’s exactly what Daniel provides.
Seeing a lot of himself in Robby, Daniel takes him in as a surrogate-son and even allows Robby to live with him and his family. Despite how things end between them in the season two finale, there’s no debate that Daniel and Robby have had positive effects on each other.
Miguel And Sam
This is the main romantic relationship in Cobra Kai, with a large part of the first season revolving around Miguel and Sam falling in love. Unfortunately, some misunderstandings and drunk antics cause these two to break up, and it takes a bit to see them get back together.
Even when Miguel and Sam aren’t romantic, they find ways to work together. The two of them are instrumental in bringing their rival dojos together to form a united front against the violence that pervades Cobra Kai.
Daniel And Johnny
The rivalry relationship that started it all. Watching these two titans return from The Karate Kid and continue their personal journeys in Cobra Kai has been nothing short of fantastic.
While their eternal rivalry is something that provides great conflict in the series and is the main driving force behind the show, seeing these two sensei bury their differences and join forces to take down the corruption of the Cobra Kai dojo is what truly makes the later seasons of the show great. Some of the best moments in the show involve Daniel and Johnny being friendly with each other, and fans would love to see more of it.
Johnny And Miguel
Without Miguel coming into Johnny’s life, there would be no Cobra Kai. Similar to Robby and Daniel, Johnny provides Miguel something critical in his life, a father figure to look up to. However, what elevates this relationship to the #1 spot is how Miguel gives Johnny something just as important, purpose.
Without each other in their lives, these two would be in completely different places and Johnny would likely be in a pretty rough spot as a drunk with no direction in life. This is why fans love this relationship.
