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Ai no Kusabi's English Dub Adds 4 More Cast Members

The official Twitter account for Media Blasters revealed four more cast members for the company's English dub of the 2012 original video anime (OVA) Ai no Kusabi on Wednesday.

• Y. Chang as Daryl
• Austin Tindle as Sid
• Meli Grant as Aisha
• Marcus Stimac as Gideon

The previously announced cast includes:

• Todd Haberkorn as Iason Mink
• Darren Mitchell as Riki
• Ricco Fajardo as Guy
• John Swasey as Orphe Xavi
• Tyson Rinehart as Luke
• Elizabeth Maxwell as Mimea
• Matt Shipman as Norris
• Bryson Baugus as Kirie
• Michael A. Zekas as Katze

Shipman and Brittany Lauda are ADR engineers for the dub, and Lauda is also ADR Director.

Media Blasters will release the OVA in HD on Blu-ray Disc on December 19. The company began streaming a clip for the dub last week.

The four-episode remake series adapts Rieko Yoshihara's boys-love novels. The anime studio AIC (Ah! My Goddess, Bamboo Blade), who previously animated the novels into two video volumes in 1992 and 1994, also animated the remake. AIC director Katsuhito Akiyama (Pumpkin Scissors, Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor) and character designer Naoyuki Onda (Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Blassreiter) reprised the same roles they performed in the 1992-1994 effort. Yoshihara herself supervised and wrote the scripts. Nobuyuki Abe (Haru wo Daiteita) of On-Lead directed the sound.

The story is set in the future on the planet named Amoi that is controlled by a supercomputer named Jupiter. Among the mostly male human population, the light-haired elite class is allowed to temporarily keep the dark-haired "mongrels" as pets. One elite member, Iason, encounters a mongrel named Riki in the slums and decides to take him in. However, Iason keeps Riki longer than it is socially approved, and rumors abound about their possible relationship.

Media Blasters released the OVA on English-subtitled DVD in 2013. Digital Manga Publishing published the eight-volume novel series in English.

Thanks to Helen H. for the news tip.