"The Karate Kid" is an animated series which debuted on NBC's Saturday morning lineup. It starred Joey Dedio, Robert Ito, and Janice Kawaye. It is based on the Karate Kid series of films.

The episodes typically followed a similar formula: Mr. Miyagi would obtain a lead on the shrine's location in some exotic corner of the world. Daniel and Taki would follow up on it, and in the process encounter some villains who had either obtained or were seeking to obtain the shrine for their own evil purposes. After engaging, and of course, defeating the villains, Daniel would come within a hair's breadth of retrieving the shrine, only to have it escape from his grasp by random chance (for example, drifting away after being tied to a bunch of balloons, or being swept into the ocean) thus ensuring that the search would continue into the next episode.