Wandering Ginza Butterfly Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Wandering Ginza Butterfly Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 3, 2026

The studio system in the Golden Era of Hollywood was often accused of typecasting, especially after this or that performer had a huge hit with a certain kind of role. Two famous attempts to break contracts with Warner Brothers for at least typecasting adjacent reasons were big news when Olivia de Havilland and Bette Davis tried to get out what they perceived to be oppressive and restrictive deals. Meiko Kaji had her own brushes with both typecasting and leaving studios under precarious circumstances, though she evidently was able to break her relationship with Nikkatsu, the studio that had at least started to make her a star, by simply walking away when Nikkatsu wanted her to sign on to "pink films" (i.e., softcore pornography). Instead, Kaji started working with Toei, which did in fact keep her out of that kind of suggestive role, though it may have ultimately been a case of jumping out of a fire and into a frying pan. At Toei, Kaji actually had some studio run-ins in terms of what kind of roles she wanted, but one way or the other, she most definitely was typecast, at least for a period, with a whole series of arguably interchangeable roles featuring Kaji as a woman with a "particular set of skills", interestingly a kind of character Kaji had already tackled at Nikkatsu with the Stray Cat Rock series. Among the franchises Kaji starred in at Toei were Female Prisoner Scorpion and Lady Snowblood, in addition to the two films Arrow has aggregated for this release. Taking a page from both de Havilland and Davis (as well as in fact from her own previous "adventures" in the film industry), Kaji later again walked away from her studio when Toei wanted her to continue making Female Prisoner Scorpion films, something that may have affected her subsequent career.

For reviews of the films in this set, please click on the following links:

Wandering Ginza Butterfly Blu-ray review

Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She-Cat Gambler Blu-ray review

Wandering Ginza Butterfly Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Wandering Ginza Butterfly Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Wandering Ginza Butterfly Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

On disc supplements are detailed in the above linked reviews. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve and encloses a nicely appointed insert booklet with some interesting writing by Camille Zaurin. Packaging features a slipcover.

Wandering Ginza Butterfly Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the kind of funny things mentioned in passing in some of the supplements is how Toei seemed to want to stick Kaji in a kimono for some reason, kind of like Paramount in particular tried to put some of its comely beauties in sarongs back in the day (Dorothy Lamour consented, but Frances Farmer in particular rebelled after Ebb Tide, though somewhat saliently she was forced back into one on loan out to United Artists for South of Pago Pago). Despite any enforced costuming choices, Kaji is definitely a presence in both films, and if neither of these is some kind of undiscovered classic, they're both entertaining in their own ways. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements enjoyable. For Kaji fans at least and as an overall package, Recommended.