[mdo7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guyver Spawn

I feel like Toku is movies and shows only made in Japan. I can name several movies from Japan that don't have Kaiju or Superheroes that are Toku. I feel like Dairanger and Yamato Takeru (Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon) are the closest thing to Japanese Wuxia Toku.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

I would like to politely reply no.
The reason I disagree is because I think Wu Xia is its own unique genre with heavy emphasis on stunning martial arts choreography, tropes, and narratives primarily set in China than special effects. They can still have special effects as much as they want, but that is not the prime focus of that genre.

Tokusatsu on the other hand is best described I think as a special effects-heavy live action film/TV media genre rooted in the aspects and methods of Japanese special effects film production.
And I think limiting to Japan-only is wrong because despite not being from Japan stuff like France Five, Battle Strike Team: Giant Saver series, Legend Hero are toku technically just to name a few.

It would be like saying chow mein and zarusoba are the same thing because they are categorized under noodles, when really they are not considering their origins and the way they are prepped, served, and eaten.

Although I agree with both of you about how we classified Wuxia and Toku. This is where the definition get blurred and hard to define because well let me show you. Guver Spawn mentioned Yamato Tekeru, yeah he's correct about that one looking a lot like a Wuxia film:

You know what that Japanese film from Toho reminds me of: Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain from 1983:

When I watched both of them, it's hard to tell if I should labeled them as either Wuxia or Toku because of the supernatural element and emphasis on martial arts. I understand the narrative and trope can be different. But my point is that there are time when Wuxia borderline to Toku territory, and the definition can get blurred like take this 1990 Wuxia drama from HK, The Gods and Demons of Zu Mountain:

This wuxia had a "sentai"-like element in this show, and the antagonist in this series is similar to the villain you would see in Super Sentai/Kamen Rider. So this is why some wuxia shows and some toku do sometime blur their definition. So when Wuxia start borderlining to Toku. That's where the definition of toku and wuxia get blurred because they both use martial arts and special effect along with supernatural or fantasy element. I don't care if it's from Japan or China, if you're creating a toku-Wuxia hybrid show, then should it be called Toku, Wuxia, or both?

Dairanger is probably the only Super Sentai which I would labeled as Wuxia like Guyver Spawn mentioned. But at the same time, The Gods and Demons of Zu Mountain is a Sentai-inspired wuxia show. So this is where the definition of Wuxia and toku gets blurred.