This is a good introduction to the five-film Stray Cat Rock series featuring girl gangs, great tunes, action, and violence. It is also responsible for furthering my crush on Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) who lays the foundation for the cult icon status that would come as the 70's marched on. As I delve into these Japanese genre pictures, it continues to amaze me that I am just getting into these now. The content, style, and attitude of these flicks seem to be tailor-made for my taste. I am thankful that Arrow Video is giving these movies the love they deserve and I'm very excited for future releases. Although Delinquent Girl Boss has a few minor spots with slow pacing, it is a very watchable story about a girl gang and the trouble they encounter over the course of a weekend.

Kaji stars as Mei, the leader of a gang who get into a rumble right off the bat with a rival group. A mysterious woman named Ako (Akiko Wada) joins the fracas and helps Mei escape as the fight gets broken up. The two regroup with the rest of the gang at a favorite nightclub (complete with a Japanese psychedelic band) and celebrate their victory. They soon discover that one of their members was captured by the opposing gang so they head off to get her back only to find her being tortured with a blowtorch. They rescue her and escape but this angers the male leader of an affiliated crime syndicate. Making matters worse, Mei's boyfriend Michio (Koji Wada) is involved with a gambling scheme with the syndicate that involves having his boxer friend throw a fight. Things go south and the syndicate is out for blood culminating in a confrontation that involves Mei and Ako as they try to protect Michio.

I really dug the look and feel of this flick. The psychedelic music had a lot to do with it as I love the era it is associated with and the culture of the time period (which does not seem much different than America if this movie is any indication). Director Yasuharu Hasebe's style is evident particularly in the first half with some interesting setups including a unique split scene sequence. Although this movie is not as overall stylish as Massacre Gun or Retaliation, you can tell that someone with an eye for cool shots is at the helm. The movie also features a chase sequence between a motorcycle and a dune buggy that goes through the city streets as well as the inside of a shopping mall. The numerous fight scenes are choreographed well but I wish they had been a little longer and that some of the other gang members had some time to shine. The only fault of this flick is that the film centres around Ako and Mei and we don't get to know the other girls at all. It doesn't matter that much because I know that the aim here was to be a quick and dirty action flick featuring girls kicking ass and with this it succeeds. The movie also has a brief scene where Wada sings a sad song (like a music video) presumably wedged in because she was a popular singer in Japan at the time.

As is necessary in gang films, it is important to give the gang members unique traits that allow the viewer to distinguish between the characters quickly. Movies like The Warriors, Switchblade Sisters, and Class of 1984 come to mind as pictures that do this really well. The girls in Delinquent Girl Boss are easily identified by their clothes which I found to be quite helpful. Meiko wears sunglasses and a beige jacket with tassles while another gang member wears black and white stripes. I also thought that the main threat on the syndicate side named Katsuya was very effective but this is no surprise as actor Tatsuya Fuji stood out in Hasebe's other films that I have seen. He is quickly becoming the most recognizable actor of this genre and he always oozes cool. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series and all of the groovy goodness that it hopefully brings. (Josh Pasnak, 2/12/16)

Directed By: Yasuharu Hasebe.
Written By: Hideichi Nagahara.

Starring: Akiko Wada, Meiko Kaji, Koji Wada, Tatsuya Fuji.