so this spiraled out of control, and this is me warning that my messages ahead are gonna get pretty long, so my apologies for clogging up your inbox with my ramblings as i do my best to answer your questions and stuff 😅 so basically: most toku are elaborate children's toy commercials, superhero shows, and shounen manga/anime but live-action (complete with the homoeroticism) rolled into one, although a good portion of its protagonists (especially in kamen rider, the franchise i'm most familiar with atm) are actually adults this time, albeit usually 20-something prettyboys (as to why, look up the odagiri effect if you haven't heard of it yet). and officially, toku isn't really a genre (stuff like godzilla are also considered toku), but many people outside of the jpn fandom basically treat it as such in the way they treat shounen, shoujo, seinen, josei, etc. so i guess it doesn't really matter anymore atp? (1/?)

(rest of ur asks under the cut!)

some toku are more adult-oriented, though those tend to be relegated to webseries and movies that aren't aired on tv, but again i'm not as familiar with that stuff rn. and you're right about the number of episodes - among the toku big 3 (kr, super sentai - aka the basis for power rangers, ultraman), kr and sentai seasons tend to be ~50 episodes while ultraman seasons are often around 25 instead. also all 3 of these air shows annually, but each is generally stand-alone albeit taking place in the same wider universe (mcu vibes except i think it's somewhat less annoying and with a less strict sense of having to make everything 'canon') and which can be loosely connected enough for them to have crossover movies every so often (though yeah, those tend to be not officially canon) (2/?)

among those big 3 as well, kr is definitely the go-to if you're interested in m/m subtext, whereas it's apparently less frequent (but definitely still present occasionally) in sentai and ultraman, especially as sentai in particular seems to be more big on the power of platonic friendship and family (not so sure on ultraman as that's the most unfamiliar series to me for now, though fwiw i think the template of the steel samurai in aa is relatively closer to ultraman than to the other big 2 franchises) (3/?)

as for what i'd recommend - i've actually only gotten into toku recently, but i'd say kr build (the season where inukai and akaso play the leads) is a pretty good place to start tbh! i haven't actually finished it myself, but i'm really enjoying it so far, and while i've heard it kinda stumbles in the latter third, it's generally agreed upon to be a solid season with a fairly cohesive plot and compelling characters (and the ending is kinda insane from what i know, but like mostly in a good way), and i agree so far as well. it's also one of the seasons specifically conceived as a callback to the very first kr shows in the showa era, so this way, you can get a pretty good sense of the original themes of kr even without watching said showa-era shows right away. and each kr season has its own themes too, with build's being focused on science and scientific principles, hence the protagonist here being a physicist (4/?)

build is also known for having a suspenseful thriller-like plot with a lot of twists and turns, so it's best to go in as blind as possible aside from like a cursory glance at its synopsis - basically don't follow my example, as i got spoiled for all the major plot twists and while i'm still liking the show and now focusing more on seeing how well-foreshadowed and built-up (ha) said twists have been so far, i definitely sometimes catch myself wishing i'd been a more unaware viewer from the start lol. and it's 49 episodes long (with some spin-off movies and a stageplay that, while not strictly necessary to watch due to either being not officially canon or not really relevant to the main plot, apparently do enhance the viewing experience and still tie in nicely to aspects of the main series and its character development), but due to the nature of its thriller-like story meant to hook viewers in, it might not actually take too long for you to finish (though i personally am taking it more slow and steady) (5/?)

as for the gay stuff, build is definitely worth checking out as the very originator of the life-changing phrase 'heated drama between men' (from this official promotional article www . toei . co . jp/tv/build/story/1210272_2766.html) and is also generally agreed to be one of the top kr shows (and the most recent one in years) to lay on extreme gay subtext (and again, that's saying something considering kr homoeroticism as a whole, and it's so palpable they've gotten many straight people and dudebro fans on reddit and twitter to also agree they're gay; other seasons with very heavy subtext between its 2 male leads that i can think of off the top of my head rn are ooo, blade, and ofc kuuga, the grandpa of all heisei kr shows) (6/?)

sento (the protagonist, played by inukai) and banjou (the deuteragonist, played by akaso) are considered iconic nowadays in helping elevate the primary x secondary rider partnership (bc going by those other mentioned extremely gay-coded relationships from previous seasons, none of them count as primary x secondary), and banjou by himself is often seen as redefining the secondary rider role (and also sento/banjou, or ryusen, is like peak m/m nerd x jock romance to me in general, and a fun bonus for me is even if it's yaoi, they both dress a lot like butch lesbians so in my mind they're kinda lesbian-adjacent to me, an actual lesbian). they're also really popular that they've gotten official couple's rings merch (based on their animal motifs of rabbit for sento and dragon for banjou), in the vein of narumitsu (and klapollo too if i'm not misremembering?), kawoshin, those guys from promare and code geass, etc (7/?)

speaking of aa again, i do think edgeworth would generally enjoy kr, gay subtext and all (the steel samurai probably contains heated drama between men too), and even though idk yet if kr and/or build would be his favorite toku shows as a whole, i definitely think he'd find himself relating to sento in many ways (they're both gay-coded identity crisis-having autistic guys with red in their color schemes, among some other similarities you'll discover along the way), but i think sento's relationship with misora (the main female character and his younger sister-ish figure) is overall more akin to phoenix and maya's than to edgeworth and franziska's. i don't think banjou and phoenix are that similar though, aside from being bi-coded blue-themed men associated with dragons, but edgeworth might still find a way to draw some parallels between his relationship with phoenix to the ryusen dynamic (8/?)

and while i can't guarantee build will make you feel as crazy (positive) as it's making me rn, i think you'll still like sento/banjou and the show itself... also, sento and banjou are pretty much the opposites personality-wise of inukai and akaso's characters in odt and cm (i also watched and enjoyed both shows prior to watching build, and yeah it's definitely a bit of a whiplash to see how different their respective characters are, though it does tickle me to imagine the possibility that the drama got so heated in build it inspired them to act in full-blown bls a few years later). like sento is an 'egotistical genius superhero' with a heart of gold whose arrogance is partly a facade and coping mechanism for his identity issues, and banjou is basically an adhd icon and ex-pro boxer (although lbr akaso doesn't really have a convincing enough physique for it, but well i can forgive it in the end because he's a great actor otherwise) who's very much an 'act/punch first, think later' type of dumbass but who's also a kind person at heart, albeit starting out as a bit of a selfish jerk whose (kinda understandably, in hindsight) distrustful nature makes him look out only mainly for himself and his small circle of loved ones, so i think it's nice to see both men's acting range (9/?)

anyway i'd say the love story (platonic or romantic, but well. it's really hard to read it as purely the former) between sento and banjou is truly at the heart of the show (like it's literally a story about building relationships) - in short, build is that "stop war start gay" graffitti meme. but for a better summary of what i do like overall about build that's also not very spoilery: www . tumblr . com/timetoddddavis/711997352927510528?source=share also i'm obsessed with this fmv so i must inflict it (positively) on every person i can (it's a bit spoilery but it's all out of context so it's not that big of a deal): youtu . be/-Gjzr5HmmfY?si=HUr8oZezqV_lIusZ (10/?)

(also even if you end up concluding that toku really isn't your cup of tea, you can at least maybe think of your experiences as a way to improve future aa headcanons and fics wrt its depiction of the steel samurai and company i guess?) this has gotten long enough that i'll stop here, but i did have some additional thoughts on build's female characters (sadly there's only a few of them, but they're treated well enough considered how men-centric kr generally is), how kr has actually and refreshingly also been dipping its toes into yuri(bait) recently, and the kinda morbidly funny anecdote about akaso thinking he might have gotten a crush on inukai on their first day of filming but it was actually heat stress affecting him, but i'll save those for another time if you're curious enough or are okay with me continuing to ramble. i really appreciate your time and attention, and thank you so much for entertaining me and my toku fixation :-) (11/11)

also toku fans have all made our jokes about the energy emanated by that classic 'heated drama between men' photobook image of inukai and akaso as sento and banjou but i'm also not kidding when i unironically think their posing in that picture perfectly encapsulates the characters' relationship by the end of the show... their relationship development from reluctant and kinda antagonistic allies to friends to beloved (and kinda codependent ngl but that just gives it more flavor to me, and also understandable given the circumstances of everything) partners really is a sight to behold <3

oh my god anon . thank u so much for the detailed explanation but also how long did these take u to type theres So Much Info Here ??? respect to ur fixation tho i dont think i would ever be so clear and coherent talking abt my blorbos afjdskfjkd

ANYWAY !!! u have def caught my interest w build (esp w the aa parallels and the rings mention i had no idea other franchises do it too) (also in the post u linked this line "it stars a silly little rabbit, the silly little rabbit has a death wish" i Need to understand the context behind that) so i might actually watch the first few eps and see if i enjoy it?? the chara dynamics sound rlly interesting already from ur descriptions so im curious abt how theyre in the show 👀 if theres any specific place/site ud recommend i watch id appreciate that too bc i have no idea where to look kfjdks

Video Game Retrospective - Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

George Lucas had a thing for “multimedia projects” before and after going crazy and messing up his own franchise with ill-advised ideas and direction and generally not having any proper oversight. that might’ve salvaged the prequels. A more recent pre-Disney example was The Force Unleashed, which was a really neat concept but fell flat for me gameplay-wise because, well, it feels a bit quaint after experiencing the versatility and general flexibility of Jedi Knight and the awesome insanity of Metal Gear Rising. (Speaking of which, a Star Wars game done by Platinum Games with the right budget, time and director would be absolutely incredible.)

The one big project Lucas worked on before the prequels was Shadows of the Empire, which was functionally an exercise of creating a whole bunch of material around a theoretical interquel film between Empire and Jedi without there actually being a film, though I think the idea of actually producing a film was entertained at one point. There was a fairly decent novel by Steve Perry, comics by Dark Horse, and an absolutely incredible soundtrack by Joel McNeely (who was recommended for the job by John Williams himself), but arguably the biggest part was the video game, which initially released on the N64 and later ported to the PC with CGI cutscenes and voice acting.

I’m gonna say this up front - I have genuine nostalgia for this game, and not just because of the surprisingly faithful recreation of the Hoth battle. That being said, after recently getting the PC version of this game myself, it’s... Not good. It’s playable, especially with mouse and keyboard controls that allow for strafing, but unfortunately there’s more bad than good. That being said, it’s still worth examining.

Shadows of the Empire focuses its game adaptation around Dash Rendar, who is a rather shameless expy/clone of Han Solo, though it’s a bit more justified by the fact that he’s friends with Solo and in some ways a bit of a friendly rival. Frankly, you could do a lot worse for a Star Wars protagonist, it can be said that the much-beloved Kyle Katarn from the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight saga was at least partially cut from the same cloth. But at any rate, if you want to play as a Jedi, you’re out of luck here. On the bright side, though, you get to do some pretty badass stuff as Dash - fighting an AT-ST on foot and winning, a jetpack duel with Boba Fett (plus fighting the Slave I when Fett decides to get pragmatic), flying directly into Prince Xizor’s skyhook base to blow it up from the inside... This game has quite a bit of variety.

One thing to get out of the way quickly - the game’s mechanics are “janky” and feel poorly-programmed in many ways. Moving down a downwards slope causes Dash to fall down it rather than walk in many cases (which has resulted in a otherwise-avoidable deaths), the way the movement works in general can be awkward in dangerous areas if you’re not using an analog stick due to Dash’s high maximum movement speed, jumping doesn’t account for the velocity of moving platforms (making the junkyard sequence awkward to navigate) and the Stormtroopers (among other enemies) are more accurate with their blasters than you are (and I don’t just mean they’re still inaccurate, they’re actually as precise as Obi Wan said they were in this game) and are often placed in awkward locations, making shooting them without getting damaged to be often difficult if not impossible in later stages. The game is playable, but it can be fairly difficult due to unfair mechanics and enemy placement. Oh, and the speeder chase doesn’t intuitively inform you how the hell you’re supposed to make jumps. I could go on for a while about, this. Also, the PC version, to my knowledge, doesn’t let you rebind keys, and mouselook controls both turning and moving forward and backward, which makes it a bit awkward if you find the mouse and keys fighting for moving your character.

In general, it feels like this game was made in that period where developers in general had the unenviable position of trying to figure out how to make things work in 3D. While the devs of this game weren’t really able to make something that aged well, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The only things that they really did well were the flying/space vehicle levels, and even those would be later outdone by Factor5′s Rogue Squadron. That being said, this game deserves the recognition it gets for being the first game to successfully recreate the Hoth battle, complete with bringing down AT-ATs with tow cables.

Before we continue, I might as well talk the differences between the two versions of the game - the PC version replaced the N64′s ‘simple’ cutscenes (mainly just static images with simple tweening animations) with CGI FMVs, and provided full voice acting. The voice acting is fine, but I honestly prefer the N64′s cutscenes in many ways. Aside from the use of just the one theme for all the cutscenes (granted, it’s a damn fine theme and provides enough atmosphere), the visuals are really nice compared to the even worse-aging CGI of the PC version’s FMVs, and some scenes are outright superior in the N64 version - IG-88′s introduction, for example, is unsettling, with him rising out of the junk pile, and his appearence with the red eyes is genuinely creepy (the guy scared the hell out of me as a kid, but I guess I was more easily scared back then, I used to be terrified of Andross in Star Fox 64/Lylat Wars as well back then, amongst other enemies and bosses during that generation), whereas the CGI version makes him look much less threatening and his voice doesn’t help either. Really, the N64′s cutscenes are absolutely dripping with atmosphere, which the PC cutscenes lack. On the bright side, both versions use McNeely’s soundtrack, which is impressive considering the N64′s known space limitations.

This game does have some replay value, just to note - every level has a collection of “challenge coins” (which are actually floating, silver Imperial emblems) to find, and beating the game on hard or above nets you a secret ending revealing that Dash successfully faked his death while escaping from the Skyhook by hitting hyperspace just as it blows up. None of the other media for the project reveals this twist, and the novel ends with Luke assuming that Dash perished because he wasn’t on his game because he failed to save an allied ship during an earlier space battle (turns out he couldn’t have done anything about it anyway) and was still reeling from the guilt.

In summary, it’s not a good game. But it is still noteworthy as far as Star Wars games go for what it did and what it tried to do, and its genuinely redeeming qualities (mainly the soundtrack). If nothing else, at least watch a let’s play of it or something if you haven’t experienced it in some form, or get the PC version via Good Old Games.

Oh, and amongst the other stuff that was in the recent Star Wars Humble Bundle, there’s the excellent Rogue Squadron 3D, and Galactic Battlegrounds, which is basically a Star Wars version of Age of Empires II, made by AoE’s developers, which is really cool and worth playing if you’re an RTS buff.