Yeah... it just depends. I think for a good while there the MIJ Fender-type instruments weren't as popular mainly because Fenders were generally better value than Gibsons- you used to be able to get a USA standard strat for ?600, whereas the equivalent Gibson model (Les Paul Standard) was double that, maybe even a little more, while the differences in prices of the Tokai models of each type was very little.
I'm going on memory here but I think at one point the Tokai Gibsons copies were around ?500 for the cheapest ones, while a Gibson Les Paul Standard was ?1300- to me that makes it hard to justify the Gibson unless it's my favourite type of guitar which I need for all my favourite tones (and even if I do, there are higher-end Tokai models at higher prices too which are also worth considering). On the contrary, a Tokai Fender-type was normally around ?400, while the USA Fenders started at a similar price for the Highway Ones and the USA standards were ?600. That's a much closer price difference, and makes the choice a lot harder. It makes it harder again when I remember that any time (which wasn't that often, admittedly) I tried a similarly-priced Tokai and Gibson (and normally the Tokai was still a few hundred cheaper, if not quite a bit cheaper), IMO the Tokai smoked the Gibson, whereas when I tried similarly-priced Tokais and Fenders, the differences seemed to be a lot smaller.
Even Tokai fans would struggle to justify the Tokai if the "real thing" was no dearer, for resale value if nothing else- I got a Gibson SG standard recently, for example, because I got a really good deal and it was actually cheaper than the Tokai equivalent... and came with a hard case too (the Tokai didn't). So from that point of view it sort of makes sense- you can't fight the entire market on your own.
Conversely when I got my Breezysound, I paid around ?400 for it, the USA reissues were more like ?1000 (and I didn't think they were really any better, apart from the nitro and coming with a case), and even the MIM classic series, which is the closest MIM to it, were about ?100 more and I thought the MIJ Tokais I'd tried had the edge (though admittedly it was very close, and I might have been splitting hairs). The Tokais normally have higher specs (2-piece or 3-piece bodies etc.) on paper too, which don't always necessarily add up to a better guitar, but which everything else being equal, I figured I might as well have.
Plus as I said, it depends on the exact spec you want- the vast majority of the Tokai Fender-type models have vintage specs, so if you want a more modern spec strat like e.g. a USA standard strat, then the Tokai isn't really going to do that at all.
It's really up to you, in other words. I really like my Tokais but I also kick myself that I didn't get a Fender USA standard strat back when they were ?600 too, since a more modern spec strat would be very handy, too (easier to play and more versatile for a lot of the stuff I play). :lol:
Hopefully someone else can chime in too with their opinions, because most of the other regulars here have far more experience with Tokais (and Fenders and Gibsons for that matter) than I do, and I don't want to be giving you the wrong end of the stick :lol: