//Itsumo: Keiko Kitagawa\\ +Works+--> Shop Girl (2007)

Works: Menu

<< back to Dramas +Movies +Commercials +Seventeen Magazine (2003-2006)

Mop Girl (2007)

Broadcast Period: October 12, 2007- December 14, 2007 (10 Episodes)

Director: Osamu Katayama

Broadcast Network: TV Asahi

Airtime: Fridays at 11:45pm

Cast: Shosuke Tanihara, Reina Asami, Sousuke Takaoka, Jiro Sato, Natsuna Watanabe, Shoko Ikezu, Magii, Hirotaro Honda, Mayumi Hori

"Mop Girl" ( モップガール) Kitagawa plays the part of the slow but hardworking Momoko, a low-ranking employee at a funeral services company who carries a mop as part of her job. However, Momoko happens to possess a strange ability. Whenever she comes across the corpse of someone who has left strong feelings behind, she travels back in time to save that person from his or her fate.

Momoko Hasegawa

Momoko Hasegawa is a clumsy, bought thoughtful 21 year old employee of the Little Angel's Wedding Company. When she accidentally ruins a couple's wedding cake, she gets transferred to the funerary branch of the company. There she works under the short tempered (European women, receipt obsessed) cleaning manager, Shotaro. Her job? To clean up crime scenes! Oh, and help organize funerals, and did I mention time travel? Momoko has the ability to "see all possible futures" given to her by a dying mysterious women when she was a young girl. Because Momoko was never in contact with an object of someone who died upset, she never knew the extent of her abilities. Thanks to her new job, Momoko comes in contact with objects like that all the time. Now, whenever Momoko touches an object that belonged to someone who died upset, she gets thrust back in time to the morning of that person's murder and (using knowledge of what she knows can possibly come to pass) she races against time to stop the murder from happening. She's silly, but she has heart and is an easy character to like.

ERIKA + Destination Nowhere

ERIKA is the singer name of the Japanese actress Erika Sawajiri (fellow member of Stardust and Keiko's co-star in Mamiya Kyoudai). Although she is constantly at the center of Japanese media (for scandals, bad attitude, ect) she is a pretty decent singer. This is her second single under the name ERIKA and was co-written by her. It captures the feeling of being lost and found in life. It's a beautiful song, that captures the more serious side of Mop Girl.

ERIKA- Destination Nowhere

01. Destination Nowhere
02. ESCAPE
03. FREE (overrocket101007 remix)
04. Destination Nowhere (instrumental)

buy @ YesAsia

Episode Guide

Below is a non-spoiler Episode Guide to the 10 episodes of Mop Girl, updated and completed upon release and review of the show. They are all done by me so they contain a little blurb (non-spoiler--I swear) and image goodies attached to these episodes. These are set up in order of the newest episode first to the oldest at the bottom. So in order to catch the review of the first episode you'll have to scroll all the way down. DO NOT TAKE THESE TRANSLATIONS OR REVIEWS without giving full credit to IKK. Thankies and Enjoy!

Mop Girl Episode 10: Finale + January 1, 2008

I'm a thousand years behind, but better late than never. Notice there is a huge gap between the last summary I did and this one? Lol, don't worry, I'll catch up in no time. Below is a non-spoiler summary of the Mop Girl finale.

Charismatic club host, Setsuya Shindo takes his daughter for a few days while preparing for his anniversay with his wife. He decides to turn to the Little Angel Company for help. Hina (Momoko's best friend) forces Momoko to accompany her to the club Setsuya works, where she is writing a story on the ins and outs of host clubs. Momoko sets out to help Setsuya by taking care of his daughter but finds herself distracted by the suspicious behavior of the club members around her. When a female war breaks out between two women that Setsuya is seeing and when jealously flairs against Setsuya by other club members, Momoko has her hands full trying to sort out the worst when she stumbles upon Setsuya bleeding to death in an alleyway. With Setsuya's killer only a few steps away, Momoko chases after the silhouette, only to be critically stabbed and lay dying in the hospital. Seeing Momoko like that, Shotaru remembers a similar event that occured in his life in the past...

The Mop Girl finale enjoyed a low rating at 9.4% leaving the entire drama with an average viewer rating of 10.2%. Considering the time slot of 11:45 pm and the lack of big shot stars, Keiko tugs the drama along all by herself and does exceptionally well. Oricon recently hosted a couple of fall drama polls to see how well certain dramas were received. Although on the "Most Anticipated Autumn Drama 2007 (before telecast)", Mop Girl doesn't rank at all---it takes surprisingly good ranking in the other polls. Next to higher ranked dramas with bigger stars, Mop Girl fairs amazingly well. The obvious success of the series is definitely hard to ignore! It could very well mean a Mop Girl 2 (which I'm dead against) but most certainly guarantees bigger and better more drama roles as well as a steep increase in her popularity.

Most Anticipated Autumn Drama 2007 (directly after telecast)
1. Iryu 2 (81.2)
2. Galileo (79.5)
3. SP (78.9)
4. Mop Girl (72.5)
5. Hataraki Man (68.9)
6. Abarenbou Mama (67.7)
7. Swan no Baka (64.6)
8. Utahime (64.5)
9. 3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei (64.3)
10. Joshi Deka (62.6)

Most Satisfying Autumn Drama 2007 (midway through telecast)
1. Iryu 2 (82.9)
2. SP (82.2)
3. Galileo (81.1)
4. Aibou Season 6 (80.2)
5. Utahime (74.9)
6. Hataraki Man (74.3)
7. Abarenbou Mama (74.1)
8. Mop Girl (73.0)
9. Dream Again (67.0)
10. Joshi Deka (66.6)

Most Satisfying Autumn Drama 2007 (after telecast)
1. Iryu 2 (84.6)
2. SP (82.6)
3. Galileo (81.5)
4. Mop Girl (76.5)
5. Hataraki Man (74.2)
6. Abarenbou Mama (73.8)
7. Utahime (70.6)
8. Furin Kazan (69.5)
9. Swan no Baka (69.0)
10. Dream Again (66.6)

|

Mop Girl Episode 4 + November 6, 2007

Episode 4 of Mop Girl aired with a drop in ratings. Ratings dropped from an 11.8 % to a 9.7% But don't panic, thanks to a little clarification by DB at the forums, the night that episode aired, the popular Japanese movie Always: Sunset on Third Street made a network appearance on another channel around the same time. As a result, most dramas in the timeslot of that movie dropped in ratings. The good news is, while other dramas dropped by 3 or more points, Mop Girl only dropped by two. Hopefully ratings will climb again with episode 5. Below is a little summary of the episode as translated from the Mop Girl official site. Don't worry, there aren't any spoilers!

   A housemaid in a posh tearoom named Mari Shingawa is killed on the roof of a building. Kohei Tsukada, who was a novelist and regular at the tearoom the maid worked at is the leading suspect of Mari's murder. The only thing is, after Mari was killed, Tsukada allegedly used the knife he killed Mari with on himself. It was said that Tsukada loved Mari very much, so these incidents don't properly add up.

   Momoko and Shotaro work with the Little Angel's Company to take Tsukada's corpse back to his house where the media is surrounding the house and bombarding Tsukada's mother with questions. In the struggle to hold the press back, Tsukada's mother loses a chess piece she was cradling in her hand in remembrance of her son.

When Momoko goes to recollect the piece, she's overcome with the memory of Tsukada and suddenly finds herself back in time to the morning of the murder. While Momoko is working hard to stop Tsukada from killing Mari, she discovers that he's hiding a secret and when she presses for the truth, he runs away from her. Momoko eventually learns that Mari has been getting advanced payments from the tearoom manager. Momoko follows Mari as she leaves her job and sees her handing her money over and go to lunch with her sweetheart, Hiroki Emoto...

   If you haven't seen Episode 4, watch it. NOW! It has replaced Episode 2 as my absolute favorite episode of the series so far. I DID complain that Episode 3 followed a formula much too similar to Episodes 1 and 2. Aside from Keiko in a maid's uniform, FINALLY there is a changeup in the storyline and the result is absolutely golden. Again, nothing is as it first appears to be, but in this episode we get to see another side of the Mop Girl series. Whereas the first three episodes were very much a display of Momoko's powers and the advantages/ civil duties she has with it, this episode is more about Momoko's powers versus fate. If someone is really meant to die, will going back in time to fix things always bring them back? This episode brings Momoko down to earth in a beautifully put together heart retching way. I declare this a MUST SEE episode! Episode 1 of Mop Girl now has subtitles in torrent form thanks to Timeless Subs. Catch that here. But for you none torrent users like me, catch Mop Girl Episode 4 (raw) here:

Mop Girl Episode 4 (Veoh)- for this viewing, it's in your best interest to download VeohTV to view the entire episode (with pretty decent quality). Don't worry, it's not much of a hassle and you can watch many good online videos through this program! ^_^

OR

Mop Girl Episode 4 1/2
Mop Girl Episode 4 2/2

   In other Mop Girl stuff, the PV for Destination Nowhere is OUT! It's a really beautiful PV and hearing the song fully with her looking beautiful (minus the scenes with her band dressed in wacky clothes) it's pretty good. I'm REALLY looking forward to the release of the single, sure to be available for download here! Scroll down to the media update to download the PV!

Mop Girl Episode 3 and more good stuff + October 29, 2007

Mop Girl continues to climb in ratings! Although the increases are slight, Mop Girl Episode 3 had an 11.8% rating. For a recap, Mop girl premiere with 10.2 % and then climbed to 10.7%. Mop Girl is one of a few dramas that has seen increases in rating from the premiere episode for this drama season. Below is a little summary of the episode as translated from the Mop Girl official site. Don't worry, there aren't any spoilers!

   In this episode, a woman named Sayuri Negishi loses an older friend who was her supporter and like a father to her. When Momoko and Shotaro finish a job, they return back to the Little Angel's agency in time to catch their fellow co-workers crowding around the TV the view a live press conference with Sayuri and councilman, Ryouhei Fugii. The goal of the conference was for Saiyuri to play innocent and downplay rumors of corruption going on within her organization. But during the conference, a ceiling light falls on Saiyuri's head and kills her in front of millions of viewers!

   A strange device is found on the light that fell on Saiyuri, revealing that it was murder and not an accident. Momoko and Shotaru are sent to site in the aftermath of the investigation in order to do some cleaning. There Momoko meets Saiyuri's secretary, Kayo Hirashima and discovers that a woman named Ranko Saionji was Sayuri's rival. Ranko was in constant competition with Saiyuri and it's believed that Ranko would do anything to rank above her. Momoko chases Ranko down and finds, in Ranko's bag, what appears to be evidence that could connect her to Saiyuri's murder! Ranko becomes the chief suspect and Shotaru teams up with Momoko to stop her. They retrace Ranko's steps to a traditional Japanese style restaurant. There, Momoko learns that Saiyuri is also a regular member of that restaurant as well! She touches a badge left by Saiyuri and is thrust back in time to the morning of Saiyuri's murder. Momoko races to the restaurant, hoping to warn Saiyuri of what's to come, but then an unexpected visitor shows up....

   All in all, Mop Girl does work well on getting better and better per episode. While the set up of "case--investigate---time travel---solve murder" remains the same, it's still interesting and the twist in the plot ultimately reinforces the idea that not everything is what it appears to be. Once again Momoko and Shotaru are quite an awesome team (there is NO WAY in hell I'm going to get tired of Shotaru's European women) as they race against time to stop another murder from happening. It's nice that Momoko is able to harness her power better and better, but I'm hoping for the storyline to develop into a decent plot where maybe Momoko misses a murder and must work harder to find the killer and bring them to justice---lol, or whatever. Just something different. If Mop Girl sticks to its formula people could get bored. And as Izzy mentioned on the boards, Mop Girl has a pretty interesting cast and developments with those other characters and not so much focus on Momoko and Shotaru might do the drama some good.

Episode 3 finished nicely and once again Momoko saves the day. Episode 4 has Momoko dressed in a maid's outfit (TOTAL fanservice) and good be interesting. For those of you wondering, My summaries of the episodes are behind the releases of the TV show because I like to watch the drama myself before I begin translating the summary. I figured that if I know what's going on, it would be easier for me to translate the summaries. Look forward to my summary of Episode 4 coming soon! In the mean time, catch the raws of Episode 3 below.

Mop Girl Episode 3: 1/2
Mop Girl Episode 3: 2/2

In more Mop Girl stuff, ERIKA has just finished wrapping up filming for the PV which is due November 5th. Along with news of the PV comes covers for the single. Read the English translation of the words here. Apparently ERIKA had a hand in writing the lyrics of the song when she visited a dessert in America this past September and was inspired by what she felt while she was there. The promo pictures for the single are really bizarre and don't seem to fit the song at all. Thankfully, the previews of the PV appears to be a lot more beautiful as ERIKA ditches the blonde locks for a more natural look. You can download the MP3 to Destination Nowhere here. It's a really beautiful song and it's nice to see ERIKA back on her feet. The true test would be to see how this single ranks. But with proper promotion, the popularity of this song will bode well for the Mop Girl series.

Destination Nowhere- ERIKA
01. Destination Nowhere
02. ESCAPE
03. FREE (overrocket101007 remix)
04. Destination Nowhere (instrumental)

Buy it! @ YesAsia

   And that reminds me. A little back tracking led me to notice that I've missed some things as far as Mop Girl promos goes. Below is a youtube video of combined Mop Girl Promos. Keiko looks SO kawaii in that pink jumpsuit, though I'm ready to shoot her hairstylist.

Mop Girl Episode 2 + October 22, 2007

Mop Girl episode 2 enjoyed a slight increase in ratings going from 10.2% to 10.7%. The increase isn't that great but the fact that people are returning to watch the series is good enough. Also, the fact that ratings in other dramas for their second episodes have dropped shows that Mop Girl has (even a little) staying power. Below is a little summary of the episode as translated from the Mop Girl official site. Don't worry, there aren't any spoilers!

   In this episode, the "Little Angel" company works in affiliation with a bridal show and Momoko gets to meet a popular model, Kinochi Ayano. Ayano is set to marry a rich corporate president, Kazuhiko Motomiya and is the envy of everyone for her beauty and the wealth she is soon to inherit. Momoko is enchanted by Ayano's beauty but quickly discovers that the outside doesn't mirror the inside when Ayano slaps her assistant, Kamibayashi Yukihiro, for no reason. And from the looks of things, Yukihiro is sick of being pushed around.

   After the event, Ayano is discovered dead in her changing room! The cause of death seems to be by potassium cyanide poisoning injected into her chocolate, earlier that afternoon and there are many suspects. The assistant police inspector, Atsushi Yokouchi, infers that the person who committed the crime must have been familiar enough with Ayano to know that Ayano would be selfish enough to insist on eating the chocolate herself. Much to her dismay, Momoko is assigned to clean up the bloody mess after investigators are done with the crime scene. So with mop in hand, she heads back to Ayano's dressing room thinking about how much Ayano must now regret her selfish decision. When she touches the bouquet that Ayano held during the bridal show, she is transported back in time to the morning when she first begins her day. In a race against time Momoko teams up with her co-worker, Shotaro, and together they hurry to stop the crime beforehand...

This episode is A LOT more interesting than the first and the ending (once the perpetrator is caught) is quite a wickedly wonderful surprise. If Mop Girl continues on this thread of getting better and better, it could end up being a decently successful drama!

   The subs for this episode aren't out yet but you can still watch the RAWS.

Mop Girl Episode 2: 1/2
Mop Girl Episode 2: 2/2

Mop Girl Premiere! + October 13, 2007

On October 12, Mop Girl premiered with a 10. 2% TV rating. This is pretty good considering the time slot. Hopefully by episode 2 ratings will increase or stay the same. If they DO decrease, I hope it's only by a little. Ratings fluxgate a lot but it would suck if people drastically lose interest in Mop Girl. The day of Keiko

   As for her first drama appearance? In a recent interview, Keiko states that she was afraid to begin drama work without having more experience as an actress. She also states that while the pressure is doubled to take the leading role in her first drama, it's something worth learning to handle.

   Episode 1 of Mop Girl was a real treat. Keiko is SO cute, it's not even funny. Her facial expressions are priceless! She really brings across the character of Momoko who is clumsy but tries her best at every task given to her. For someone worried about pressure, she nails every part perfectly. She overacts when she needs to overact, but doesn't skip out on raw talent when it comes to delivering her lines and reactions. *fan girl interjection* Am I the only one who thinks her male costar Shousuke Tanihara so handsome? He's not cute, or hot, or sexy. No, he's generally a really handsome man and a pretty good actor. I like him! ^_^ *fan girl interjection over*. *ahem*

   So, anyway, although the series is indeed a comedy, there are some serious moments--what with Momoko having the ability to travel back in time. It's nicely intense, without laying it on so thick that it becomes a sob-fest. And it's deliciously fast paced what with Keiko running all over the place. Granted, it's not like it's the best drama I've ever seen, but Mop Girl takes a typical storyline and gives it just enough of an interesting twist to keep you watching from beginning to end. Don't you just love how DoCoMo is a sponsor? If I didn't know any better I'd say Keiko's phone was the SH904i in crystal white just like her DoCoMo character. *shrugs* Even if I'm wrong, that looks an awful lot like a DoCoMo phone.

    So, when all is said and done, Keiko--"You did good kid, you did good."

   The subs for Mop Girl aren't out yet but you can still catch the RAWS and enjoy it all the same.
Mop Girl Ep.1 Part 1/2
Mop Girl Ep.1 Part 2/2

   Lastly, although there is no cover art, below is the official track listing for the Destination Nowhere single.

Destination Nowhere- ERIKA
01. Destination Nowhere
02. ESCAPE
03. FREE (overrocket101007 remix)
04. Destination Nowhere (instrumental)

source

New Page 2

Credit