In this blog post, I’ll examine ‘Swallowtail Butterfly’ from the perspective of a fantasy adventure, focusing on Ageha’s journey to discover her identity, the world of Yen Town, her allies and adversaries, and the meaning of “heaven” as portrayed in the film.

“Swallowtail Butterfly” Through the Lens of Fantasy

On a certain portal site, “Swallowtail Butterfly” is listed under the genre “Drama/Noir.” However, while watching the film, I found myself thinking that it possesses many characteristics of the “fantasy-adventure” genre. This is likely due to my own definition of fantasy, which differs slightly from conventional genre classifications. What I intend to discuss here is precisely why I have defined ‘Swallowtail Butterfly’ as a fantasy.
Todorov argues that fantasy—or illusion—is something that leaves us hesitating between the questions of whether it is reality or illusion. Applying Todorov’s analytical framework more closely to this film, ‘Swallowtail Butterfly’ could be classified as “grotesque wonder.” Although the setting, “Yentown,” is a world created by the author, the story is set in the real-world location of Japan, and the events depicted are not entirely impossible. In other words, although we clearly know this is not reality, it is because it can be explained rationally.
After referring to this film as “fantasy” earlier, it may seem contradictory to now call it “grotesque wonder” according to Todorov’s classification. This is because “wonder” implies a clear recognition that something is not real. In other words, it is a state of unhesitating acceptance, much like fantasy. I believe this confusion arises from equating “fantasy” as a genre with Todorov’s concept of the fantastic. In other words, I do not believe that the fantastic, as described by Todorov, constitutes the entirety of fantasy.
I view fantasy as a unique way of presenting the world. Fantasy presents reality in a style distinct from that of other genres, and I believe this style is “metaphor.” In other words, within fantasy, there exist countless subsidiary concepts of metaphors, and we can find the primary concepts of those metaphors in certain aspects of reality. For example, one could interpret the One Ring in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ as a real-world nuclear weapon technology.
Compared to fantasy, other genres use fewer metaphors and rely primarily on everyday metaphors. Furthermore, the objects that serve as the secondary concepts in these metaphors are also everyday. However, the secondary concepts used in fantasy are non-everyday objects. A good example of this is the movie ‘Shrek’, which satirizes our era’s tendency to praise only visible beauty; in it, Fiona—who appears to discuss true beauty—has green skin.

The World Created by Ageha and Her Allies

The main characters in a fantasy adventure include the hero (the protagonist), the antagonist, and the allies. In my view, the hero—that is, the protagonist—of ‘Swallowtail Butterfly’ is Ageha. She is a nameless existence until the death of her mother, Yuriko—a prostitute from Yen Town—and her encounter with Griko, a complete stranger connected only through a series of acquaintances. Yen Town represents not only her socially and economically marginalized status within Japan but also her personal sense of abandonment, as she is unable to answer the question of who she is.
Her allies include Griko, who gave her a name; Feihong, Lan, and Nihat, who gave her a part-time job; Aaron, who taught her boxing; and Hoan, who, after being knocked down by one of her punches, became her subordinate. Additionally, Ryoyanki appears as an ally who saves her life when she collapses from a drug overdose. The doctor in Yentown also looks into Ageha’s pain and heals it.
What remains somewhat unclear in this film is the identity of the antagonist. This is because Ageha fights against everything that seeks to destroy her world. Ageha affirms her personal identity by receiving a name from Griko and establishes her social identity with the help of Mr. Third Culture, who assists her in forming the Yentown Band. This is the world Ageha seeks to protect.
When she sees the caterpillar Griko drew on her chest and says, “My name is AGEHA,” she is creating her own personal world; establishing the “Yentown Club” in downtown was a declaration of her social identity—namely, that she is from Yentown. However, obstacles arise during her second attempt. To succeed in mainstream Japanese society, Griko had to become Japanese, and without Griko, the Yentown Club closes its doors. The antagonist is Japanese society, which oppresses those from Yentown.
As discussed in the definition of fantasy, rather than simply accepting the above at face value, it is more important to consider what Agheha symbolizes, what being from Yen Town symbolizes, and what Mr. Third Culture symbolizes. I believe these interpretations can take various directions.

The Journey from Yen Town to Downtown, and Back Again

The fantasy adventure genre has a very long history, and its plot structure is highly formulaic; according to Joseph Campbell’s theory, it can be divided into three stages: separation, initiation, and return. In this regard, Ageha’s journey fits this framework perfectly. She travels from Yen Town to Downtown, and then returns to Yen Town.
Ageha was born in Yen Town and lived there as the daughter of Yuriko, who worked as a prostitute. One day, Yuriko becomes entangled in a drug deal and returns home as a cold, lifeless body. This incident becomes the catalyst for Ageha’s adventure. She goes from one acquaintance to another, eventually meeting a woman named Griko—a complete stranger who happens to be an acquaintance of one of her acquaintances. Griko is also a Yen Towner who came over from China and lives in Yen Town. At first, Griko tries to sell Agheha to a brothel she knows, but changes her mind and takes her in as her younger sister. After that, Agheha begins living by helping Griko with her work.
By chance, Ageha notices a swallowtail butterfly tattoo on Griko’s chest. Griko explains that the tattoo is the only mark that can identify her in Yen Town, where there is no other way to prove one’s identity. Griko then gives the nameless Ageha the name “Ageha.” In Japanese, “Ageha” means swallowtail butterfly. Citing her young age as the reason, he draws a small caterpillar on her chest with a pen. Looking down at her chest, Agheha murmurs her name. Griko has planted the seed of identity in her heart. In doing so, he becomes a mentor who helps Agheha shape her own world.
Furthermore, by introducing Agheha to Feihong, Lan, and Nihat—who will do anything to make money—Griko opens a path for her to engage with the world. Here, while helping Feihong with his work, Agheha mingles with people of many different ethnicities gathered in Yentown and gradually learns about their ways of life. Just as she had deliberately punctured a tire with an arrow to earn money for Fei Hong, Agehah also recklessly runs up to passing cars, washes them, and forces drivers to pay her.
She also meets Aaron, a former boxer who deals with Griko’s troublesome customers. Aaron teaches Agheha how to box, and later, thanks to these skills, she begins dating Hoan—making Aaron another of Agheha’s allies.
One day, when a man named Sudoran—one of Griko’s customers—attempts to assault Ageha, Aaron strikes him and accidentally knocks him out the window, killing him. While disposing of the body, they find a cassette tape of the song “My Way” inside Sudoran’s stomach, and this becomes the catalyst for their departure from the world of Yen Town to Downtown. It also serves as the catalyst that brings them into conflict with another world.
This tape had been obtained by Ryoyanki, the king of the Yen Town refugees and a master forger. Things begin to unravel when Sudo—a subordinate of an organization with conflicting interests—takes it with him and is subsequently killed. Ryoyanki, who is Griko’s older brother, sends his henchmen to track down and kill whoever is in possession of the tape. Through her informant, Ran discovers that the tape contains the magnetic data for 10,000-yen bills. Using this information, she transforms 1,000-yen bills into 10,000-yen bills, and once they’ve saved up enough money, they leave their home, “Aozora” (which means “blue sky” in Japanese). Aaron and Nihat return to their hometown, while Fei Hong, Griko, and Ageha head downtown; Ran and the children remain at Aozora.
While a full-scale investigation into the counterfeit bills used to raise this money begins, Feihong decides to set up a live music venue for Griko. While recruiting band members, he meets Mr. Third Culture—a man who looks American but was born in Japan and speaks only Japanese—and through an interview with him, who is in a similar situation to her own, Ageha begins to reflect on her identity as defined by society. In other words, although Ageha didn’t come to Yen Town to make yen and isn’t actually from Yen Town, society still calls her a “Yen Towner.” Just as Mr. Third Culture is mistaken for an American even though he isn’t one. He, too, emerges as a key figure in shaping Ageha’s identity. With his help, a band is formed for the Yen Town club.
While putting up flyers to promote the club, Ageha gets into a scuffle with Hoan and knocks him out with a punch he learned from Aaron. As a result, Ageha gains another ally in Hoan. Hoan’s gang later helps Ageha exchange counterfeit bills when he attempts to reclaim the Yen Town Club.

Griko’s Success and the Collapse of Ageha’s World

Meanwhile, the Yen Town Club is a huge success, and Fei Hong stops by Aozora, where Ran is staying, to tell her that Griko has signed a contract with a record label. Ran hands Fei Hong a gun and asks him to become Griko’s “guardian of his dreams.” Meanwhile, the record label suggests that Griko become a Japanese citizen, citing her album sales figures as the reason. They also raise concerns about her lack of a visa. In response, Feihong tells her that if it means she can become a star, it’s fine for her to become Japanese.
After their encounter, Feihong strokes the butterfly tattoo on his chest and says, “Fly.” This is likely his indirect way of praying that her dream will come true. However, due to a scheme by the record label president—who viewed Fei Hong as an obstacle—Fei Hong is arrested and detained as an illegal immigrant. Every time this happens, Ageha packs him a lunchbox and sends word asking after Griko. While Fei Hong faces the prospect of forced deportation, Griko is on her way to becoming a superstar, selling out every show.
Meanwhile, Ageha’s crew discovers drugs, and Ageha injects some into her arm and passes out. In a panic, Hoan rushes out to seek help, and the person he finds is none other than Ryoyanki. Ryoyanki takes Ageha to the Yentown doctor who tattooed “Grikko” on her. There, a drug-addled Ageha sees a poster of Griko on the wall and blurts out the name “Griko.” Hearing this, Ryoyanki realizes that Griko from the Yen Town band is his younger brother. Ryoyanki also emerges as the savior who saved Ageha’s life.
Fei Hong, who had expected to be forcibly deported, is released all too easily because she has no criminal record and lacks the money to return to China. As she runs through the city, reveling in her freedom, Fei Hong sees Griko’s swallowtail butterfly taking flight. An image of the swallowtail butterfly—the cover art for her album—has been installed on a large billboard in the city. With this, Feihong comes to believe there is nothing more she can do for Griko.
Feeling hurt, Feihong extorts money from Griko’s boss, and the members of the Yen Town Band, believing he has sold Griko out, quit their jobs. As a result, the Yen Town Live House is forced to close.
For Agheha, the closure of the Yentown Club brings a sense of frustration—that her world can no longer expand. However, she strives to rebuild her world. As a first step, she decides to go to Opium Street to get a tattoo of a fully grown tiger swallowtail butterfly. The doctor, claiming he lacks the power to make the butterfly fly, accepts only the fee for the body from the money she paid for the tattoo and returns the money for the two wings. I believe this signifies that the power to make the butterfly fly lies within Agheha herself.
While tattooing her, the doctor asks her to recall the memory of the first time she saw a butterfly. Ageha recalls a butterfly from her childhood that was trying to escape through the window; she struggled to hold it back but ended up crushing it to death against the window frame. She then asks the doctor if that is indeed her memory. In response, the doctor asks her whether she is speaking of that memory as a child or as a butterfly. I believe this symbolizes her own existence—crushed by society—that is, Ageha as the swallowtail butterfly.
In other words, by helping Agheha reveal her inner pain and suffering and allowing her to shed tears, the doctor is also a character who aids her. To rebuild her world, Agheha asks Ran for the tape, explaining that she needs it to “get everything back.” She then gathers all of Hoan’s gang members, organizes them into a structured operation, and amasses a huge fortune by exchanging counterfeit bills. Taking the money she’s collected, she visits a real estate agent and says she wants to reclaim the Yen Town Club.
However, the real estate agent, blinded by greed, tries to kill her but gives up and simply advises her to go back. As a result, Ageha is unable to reclaim the new world she had built in Downtown.

Fei Hong’s Death and the Heaven Ageha Comes to Realize

Meanwhile, a deranged woman from the red-light district who witnessed the Griko gang killing Sudo tips off a reporter. She also sells the information to Ryoyanki’s henchmen, who had been tracking the whereabouts of the tape. After seeing evidence that she had sold her body, the reporter blackmails Griko, and Ryoyanki’s henchmen—unaware that he is Ryoyanki’s younger brother—threaten Griko while he is with the reporter.
After escaping the threat thanks to the reporter’s coverage, Griko calls Feihong and asks for forgiveness for abandoning everyone. Just as Feihong is on the phone, Ryoyanki’s gang storms into the place where she is. Feihong hides the gun Lan gave her inside her clothes, tells Griko to wait at Aozora, and hangs up. They take Feihong—who doesn’t have a visa—and the old man, the nominal owner of the Yentown Club, into custody.
Feihong uses the gun to fend off Ryoyanki’s henchmen, then stops a taxi at gunpoint. Realizing he has no money, he tries to exchange the single counterfeit bill left in his pocket at a vending machine but is caught by police who had been lying in wait. Once in custody, Fei Hong is threatened and forced to reveal who is behind the massive counterfeit bills that Ageha had circulated; in the process, he is severely tortured and dies.
Meanwhile, Griko, recaptured by Ryoyanki’s henchmen and dragged to Aozora, begs Ran to lend him the tape. Facing off against Ryoyanki’s henchmen, Ran takes them out using her friend’s bazooka.
As a result, Ageha returns to Aozora. Agehaha, who went to retrieve Feihong’s body, reveals details she couldn’t share when her mother died—namely, that Feihong’s name was Yan Town, and he was from neither Shanghai nor Beijing. Agehaha, Griko, and Ran bring the body back to Aozoora, place it in a car, and burn it along with the large sum of money they had exchanged for it.
While arranging flowers for Feihong’s cremation, Ageha reveals her chest, saying, “The caterpillar has become a butterfly.” This signifies that Ageha has matured. Furthermore, just as Feihong once said, “If heaven is where a soul goes on a rainy day, then perhaps this place—where the soul cannot ascend to the sky but touches the clouds and falls as rain—is heaven,” Ageha comes to realize that where she is now is heaven.

An Open Ending and the Rediscovery of Her Name

The film’s ending is open-ended. As Lan aims her gun at Ryoyanki, preparing to kill him, Ryoyanki—unaware that he is being targeted—mutters from inside the car about retrieving the tape and making one last big score before returning to China. He comes face-to-face with Ageha, who is riding by on her bicycle, and stops the car.
When Ryoyanki asks about Agheha’s well-being, sends his regards, and prepares to leave, Agheha hands him the tape as a token of gratitude for saving her life. When Ryoyanki asks her name, she replies, “Agheha”—“the name given to me by the prostitute Griko.” This implies that she has returned to her former self as the prostitute Griko, no longer Griko of the Yen Town Club.
The film ends with Ryoyanki driving away. In other words, the outcome of the situation between Ryoyanki and Ran remains open-ended.

Is accepting one’s identity the path back to heaven

“Swallowtail Butterfly” does not follow the typical plot of a fantasy adventure. The antagonists lack distinct characterization, and there is no quest for treasure. However, I believe the film holds great significance in its portrayal of finding one’s identity and embracing it positively, regardless of one’s social standing.
A girl who once had no sense of identity at all begins to realize who she is, but fails in her attempt to internalize the identity of another—one that lies outside herself—as her own. Through that failure, she realizes that no matter how hard she tries to forcibly acquire someone else’s identity, that place is no longer the paradise she once lived in, and she returns to her former life.
This film offers the insight that paradise isn’t somewhere far away—it is right here. Isn’t the reality we live in, which fantasy seeks to capture, also like that? After all, even if we try to force an identity that doesn’t fit us onto ourselves, that “clothing” always feels uncomfortable and never brings true happiness. I believe ‘Ageha’ depicts precisely these forced efforts we make.
Of course, I do wonder if this conclusion might encourage the laziness of people who live without taking on challenges. However, if becoming happy is the purpose of our lives, I think we need to bear in mind that progress does not necessarily guarantee happiness.