The ghost of The Karate Kid‘s superior sensei, Mr. Miyagi, loomed larger than ever in the newest Cobra Kai season, which included a better-than-it-should-be scene of Daniel-san gaining access to his in mentor’s letters. Anyone who watched this season felt the hard-hitting significance of that scene, which really drove home how special those original movies were, and how wonderfully they rendered an underdog story while managing to be invigorating and forgivably embracing the power of underdog clichés. Well, those The Karate Kid films would never have translated with a lesser Miyagi actor than Noriyuki “Pat” Morita. He was Oscar-nominated for the first film, and as Ralph Macchio reveals in More Than Miyagi (a new Love Project Films documentary), his one Morita-centered regret is not being able to walk the awards red carpet with his friend. In turn, the film shows us how one would be hard-pressed to find a stronger Hollywood underdog story than that of Pat Morita. In other words, settle down, Daniel LaRusso, because the man who played your mentor came by the role more than honestly.