Sukeban is a contraction of the Japanese words "Suke" (female) and "bancho" (boss).
The term describes a specific high school archetype which is usually (though not
always) associated with juvenile delinquency. The term "Zubeko" (bad girl) is no
longer in vogue, but at the time these films were made was a hip slang expression
that would more accurately have been translated as "bitch".

The current Kogal (also Kogaru) style of retro-hip soul-sister fashion can first be
seen in these films -released two decades before the advent of Kogal culture. In
fact these films were among the first to show high school girls (albeit delinquents)
in street styles rather than exclusively in the uniforms with which they are so closely
identified. This change-of-styles was likely a political statement on the part of the
filmmakers (equating the loss of that uniform with the loss of sexual innocence) and
it heralded the arrival of Japanese feminism.

The Sukeban films, though released as exploitation, contain strong social
commentary. They collectively told a single cautionary tale, and presented for
contemporary Japan the same dystopian world that A Clockwork Orange
predicted for future England.