Angry Asian Man 25th Anniversary Celebration at LAAPFF

Screening and Party - Saturday, May 2 in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

Friends, if you're in Los Angeles, you're invited to the 25th anniversary celebration of Angry Asian Man, in partnership with the 2026 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

We're presenting a 40th anniversary screening of The Karate Kid Pt. II, featuring a fun live "Crane Kick Commentary" with star Tamlyn Tomita, myself, and some good friends. It's happening Saturday, May 2 at the Japanese American National Museum, followed by the Angry Asian Man 25th Anniversary Party at Far Bar. And for you, faithful supporter, use the discount code ANGRY25 to get 25% off your ticket price.

THE KARATE KID PT. II
Democracy Center @ JANM
May 2, 2026
7:30 pm
$25
Info/Tickets

This 40th anniversary screening, presented in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Angry Asian Man, will feature a live “Crane Kick Commentary” with star Tamlyn Tomita, and guest commentators Phil Yu, Jenny Yang, Jeff Yang, Dino-Ray Ramos, and Rebecca Sun.

Summoned by his dying father, Miyagi returns to his homeland of Okinawa, with Daniel, after a 40-year exile. There he must confront Yukie, the love of his youth, and Sato, his former best friend turned vengeful rival. Sato is bent on a fight to the death, even if it means the destruction of their village. Daniel finds his own love in Yukia’s niece, Kumiko, and his own enemy in Sato’s nephew, the vicious Chozen. Now, far away from the tournaments, cheering crowds and safety of home, Daniel will face his greatest challenge ever when the cost of honor is life itself.

ANGRY ASIAN MAN 25th Anniversary Party
Far Bar
May 2, 2026
10:00 pm
$25, (FREE for festival artists; RSVP required)
Info/Tickets

Celebrate 25 years of the Angry Asian Man Blog! Join us after the screening of The Karate Kid Part II to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Phil Yu’s blog, Angry Asian Man.

Come out and help me celebrate a quarter century of this blog and our community!

For info and tickets, go here. And remember: use the discount code ANGRY25 to get 25% off your ticket!

They Call Us Bruce 172: They Call Us Yuji Okumoto

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome actor Yuji Okumoto, who stars in season five of Netflix's Cobra Kai as Chozen Toguchi, the role he originated in 1986's The Karate Kid Pt. II. He talks about stepping back into the Karate Kid Cinematic Universe, his (and ours, and everybody's) love for Kumiko, and getting an unexpected redemption arc for his character over thirty years later. This episode is paid for by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Find boosters near you at vaccines.gov.

How to Be Like Chozen from 'The Karate Kid Part II'

National Film Society gets a lesson in awesome from Yuji Okumoto.



Here's some required viewing for my fellow Karate Kid Part II fans... Just in time for the digital release of the action/comedy feature Awesome Asian Bad Guys, Stephen and Patrick of National Film Society recently invited actor Yuji Okumoto to instruct them with lessons on How To Be Like Chozen, the incredibly mean, pectorally-blessed villain from The Karate Kid Part II. (Specifically, that scene where he takes off his shirt.)

As you'll see, for Patrick and Stephen, it's easier said than done:

LAAPFF presents Crane Kick Commentary: The Karate Kid Part II

Tuesday, April 28 at the Japanese American National Museum



Folks, this is going to be a fun one. If you're in Los Angeles, I invite you to join me for the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival's special presentation of The Karate Kid Part II: Crane-Kick Commentary Edition!

You know it, you love it. Re-visit director John Avildsen's 1986 follow-up to The Karate Kid, in which Mr. Miyagi and Daniel-san travel to Okinawa for a journey of old scores, new flames and big bad bullies. This was, of course, the movie that introduced us to the lovely Tamlyn Tomita, gave us an impressive look at shirtless Yuji Okumoto, and still has us scratching our heads over that mysterious (but effective) drum technique.

I've assembled some friends to watch the movie and provide a live running commentary, Mystery Science Theater 3000-style, for this goofy classic that holds a special place in our hearts. Our Crane Kick Commentary Crew includes Tamlyn Tomita, Jenny Yang, Patrick Epino, Stephen Dypiangco and Emily Chang. The screening will be preceded by a karaoke singalong of Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love," led by Jane Lui.

Join us for a night of laughs and fond nostalgia as we re-discover the Secret of Miyagi Family Karate. It's happening Tuesday, April 28, 7:00pm at the Japanese American National Museum.

Here are some more details about the evening:

May this video inspire you to fight for someone's honor

The climactic hand drum scene from 'The Karate Kid Part II'... on a ten-hour loop.



The other night, The Karate Kid Part II is on TV again, so of course I'm watching. I've seen like it 800 times. (Longtime readers know I'm a little obsessed with this movie.) But after all these viewings, I still don't quite understand the secret to Miyagi family karate. I've asked the drum, but I haven't unlocked its secret.

I say all this as a dumb prelude to sharing this super-weird video I stumbled across last night. It's a ten-hour-long video created from the climactic hand drum scene from The Karate Kid Part II. That's right. Sato, Yukie and Miyagi rattling those little hand drums on near-endless loop. Well, why not? There's room on the internet for many things.

It's kind of mesmerizing. Play it, watch it, and unlock the secrets of the drum:

National Film Society talks to Cookie Monster

Snacks on! Snacks off! Turns out, Cookie Monster is a big movie buff.



Our friends Patrick and Stephen of National Film Society recently got to sit down and talk movies with none other than Cookie Monster. Yes, the Big C himself. He talked about his love of the classics, as well as his own moviemaking endeavors with parodies of The Karate Kid and Pirates of Caribbean. Charming fellow. Take a look: