The guest voice cast for the animated "Detroit Metal City" was partly revealed on Thursday. The biggest announcement was that popular actress Masami Nagasawa is playing the role of the heroine, Yuri Aikawa. Other notable names on the roster are hip-hop artist K DUB SHINE (as Kiba), actor Riki Takeuchi (as Jack Il Dark), and musician Hideki Kaji (making a cameo in the ending theme).

Kenichi Matsuyama and Rosa Kato, who are both appearing in the live-action film that opens on August 23, will also be participating. In the movie, Matsuyama stars as Johannes Krauser II and Kato plays Yuri Aikawa, but in the animated version they will play actor Makoto Hokazono and actress Hanae Yamano, respectively.

The animated project was first announced months ago. It is being produced by Studio 4°C and will be released on August 8 as a 4-disc DVD box set. However, the first short episode (of 24 total) is already being made available for free on a special Amazon site. The second episode will be sold as a sampler DVD on July 11 for 666 yen.