Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2 She-Cat Gambler (1972)

This follow up to Wandering Ginza Butterfly starts off with a bit of action right away.  When a young girl escapes from the Yakuza that are taking her to work at a Geisha house she has the good fortune of running into Nami.  Unable to ignore the beating that the girl is taking Nami intercedes and chases the Yakuza off.  This puts her in conflict with a powerful criminal organization called the Aoshida Company.  After Nami gets the girl out of her contract and befriends a pimp named Ryuji who treats his girls well and is the only competition for the Aoshida Company things get really interesting.  Not only do the Yakuza strong arm Ryuji out of business, but the boss is also the man responsible for the murder of Nami’s father years earlier.  This sets both Nami and Ryuji on a violent collision course with the gang.

If you have read my review of the first movie in the series then you know that many fans of Meiko Kaji, who plays Nami, weren’t happy with the first movies lack of action.  While this isn’t the most over the top violent movie I’ve seen it does have more action than the first one does.  But it also doesn’t lose the focus that the first movie had on character and plot.  While not as interesting as the first movie the plot here is still a bit more than the traditional revenge story because of the other characters.  While Nami spends the movie looking for her father’s killer there is also an interesting subplot with the young woman she saved and that girl’s relationship with her father.  He is a gambler and a drunk who sold his only child to the Yakuza for some quick cash! Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2 is much like the first movie, a slow burn.  The movie takes it’s time setting up the characters and story.  I’ve seen that some fans complain that is boring, but I rather enjoyed getting to know the characters.  That way when bad things happen or when Nami gets her revenge there is something to it.  Basically you get investing into what is happening with the characters.  This makes the ending satisfying and is a great payoff.     

 

The cast is solid again with Meiko Kaji doing another fine job as Nami.  She is not only up to the acting requirements of the role, but is convincing in the fight sequences.  Of course a big highlight for me is the inclusion of Sonny Chiba as Ryuji.  Not only does he get to kick some ass, but he gets to show off some decent acting skills as well.  Speaking of the action the fights in the movie are choreographed well and are exciting to watch.  Though I should mention again that while this sequel has more action than the first movie it still isn’t the nonstop fight that many other Yakuza flicks are.  So you Sonny Chiba fans might be a bit disappointed.  But when they swords are flashing and the blood is spraying this is as good as most any other movie from this genre that you are going to see. 

I have to say that I enjoyed Wandering Butterfly 2 She-Cat Gambler as much as I did the previous installment.  The movie is entertaining and a bit different from all of the other Yakuza/revenge movies I’ve seen before.  That alone makes it worth checking out.  For more information on this release, as well as the first movie head on over to the Synapse website at http://www.synapse-films.com/

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer