Anthony "Antonio" LaRusso is a supporting character in Cobra Kai and the son of Daniel and Amanda LaRusso, and younger brother of Samantha LaRusso.
He is portrayed by Griffin Santopietro.
Personality
Anthony can best be described as less than likable, as he is shown to be a spoiled, bratty and technology-addicted child — the complete opposite of Daniel when Daniel was a kid. He is proud of his LaRusso bloodline, much like his cousin, and acts in a condescending manner to anyone whom he believes are not on par in respect to wealth and success as his parents, which included Johnny and Miguel.
This is a source of tension between father and son, as Daniel has vivid memories of living in squalor in Reseda and Newark, and how Daniel's parents struggled to pay the bills. One example of this is where the LaRussos are at a party hosted by their country club, and Anthony is seen by himself playing a violent game on his tablet while other kids are playing in the pool or watching a magician do tricks; Daniel asks his son if he wants to go to the bar with him to get a (soft) drink, to which Anthony rudely says to his father to bring it to him. Daniel tells his wife that at Anthony's age, he would have considered himself blessed to be invited to such a party, whereas Amanda jokingly dismisses Daniel's concern as yet another story of his hardscrabble childhood in New Jersey, which she has heard multiple times.
Daniel and Amanda love their son, but are less than pleased with his attitude.
While spoiled, there are moments such as in the opening montage of Strike First where he does care about his family. Despite his preference for Martial Arts fantasy fighting games over the real thing, he does show a budding interest in karate when he watches the tournament.
Cobra Kai
Season 1
Anthony has a small role. He is known to be spoiled as he spends too much time playing video games, and does not care about Karate. However, he does show interest in karate while he is at the All Valley tournament.
Season 2
He has an even smaller role. He is first shown in the kitchen where Daniel asks him to join Miyagi-Do Karate instead of going to summer camp, but he refuses as he does not want to do the chores as part of the training.
The morning after the party at Moon's house Daniel goes to Sam's room and notices she is not there. Anthony is the one who reports that Sam never came home, as he walks by Daniel who asks him if he's seen Sam to which he replies "Not since yesterday when I got home from camp". However, he seems unconcerned, as he then asks him to make waffles.
Season 3
He even had a way smaller role in season 3 which made him a minor character.
In season 3, he is only shown in one scene. He is shown with his mother Amanda, walking in on Sam teaching karate to the Miyagi-Do students. While Amanda is confronting Sam, he is shown eating a popsicle and when his mother finishes speaking, he tells his sister Sam that he is disappointed in her.
In the last episode of season 3, he is mentioned by Daniel. He says to Amanda that Anthony wouldn't like this restaurant while at a party.
Appearances
Season 1
Anthony appeared in eight of the ten episodes of the first season of Cobra Kai.
Season 2
Anthony appeared in two of the ten episodes of the second season of Cobra Kai.
Season 3
Anthony in only one of ten episodes of the third season of Cobra Kai.
Trivia
- Anthony appears to be a fan of Yoo-Hoo.
- Aside from his apparent love of Yoo-Hoo, Anthony loves video games. He appears to be a fan of the PlayStation Vita. The Vita was the successor to the PlayStation Portable. The Vita was effectively a handheld PlayStation 3 and early models even offered an OLED screen, but, for various reasons, the Vita failed to live up to the success of the PSP and was discontinued in early 2019. Sony, the company that made the Vita, produced Cobra Kai.
- According to a conversation between Daniel and Amanda, Anthony's birth was unplanned.
- Anthony seems to be the antithesis of Miguel Diaz, who lives in a small apartment, but behaves respectfully to adults and is appreciative of the seldom times he gets a favor or gift. Daniel's bond with Robby can be viewed as the bond Daniel wishes he had with Anthony.
- It has been theorized that Anthony was also the name of Daniel's father, and the boy was named for his paternal grandfather.
- It is unknown whether Anthony ever met Mr. Miyagi. Although he was at the age of four, when Mr. Miyagi passed away, it is very likely that he did as Mr. Miyagi and Daniel had an extremely close relationship.