The production team behind Dark Machine the Animation — the anime adaptation of the Dark Machine game and anime project — has announced three additional cast members alongside the series’ confirmed premiere date of October 13.

New Cast: Team Stellatus

All three new cast members play characters in Stellatus, a rival team to protagonist Kairi’s Carbuncle squad who also operate as an idol unit. The additions are:

• Nao Tōyama as Ark
• Nonoka Ōbuchi as Denebora
• Rei Nakashima as Spica

Kairi’s Mecha Designs Revealed

The team also unveiled the mecha designs assigned to Kairi:

• Walker (small) WISDOM [KairiCustom] “Alba”
• Ride Loader (medium) NEXUS [KairiCustom] “Aestus”
• Gigant Loader (large) AEON [KairiCustom] “Carbuncle”

Broadcast Schedule

The series premieres on Fuji TV on October 13 at 25:45 JST (effectively 1:45 a.m. on October 14), followed by Kansai TV on October 15 and BS Fuji on October 20. Global distribution is also planned.

Full Main Cast

• Kenshō Ono as Kairi
• Miyuki Sawashiro as Rudora
• Kōki Uchiyama as Shinn
• Riho Sugiyama as Bran
• Saya Aizawa as Isana
• Yūichi Nakamura as Ajima
• Kazuyuki Okitsu as Myōjin
• Ryōta Suzuki as Ryō
• Genta Nakamura as Kinji
• Sōhei Horikane as Hiru
• Ryūnosuke Watanuki as Nyūdō
• Jun Kousaka as Hachiman
• Minori Suzuki as Bianca
• Rikuya Yasuda as Weiss

Staff

Kazumi Terada directs the series at Production +h, with the same core team that produced the pilot trailer shown at Comic-Con International in July 2024 continuing on the TV series. Code Geass director Gorō Taniguchi serves as creative producer, while Macross artist Hidetaka Tenjin is chief mechanical designer. Project creator is Keiichi Yano.

Series scripts are handled by “Team Carbuncle” — Takaaki Suzuki, Tatsuhiko Urahata, and Atsuo Ishino — with Satohito Sata joining the writing team. BUCK-TICK performs the opening theme “Sonzai Riyū Kai” (Reason to Live, Renewed).

Other key staff: Main Character Designer Kō Yoshinari; Sub-Character Designer Akira Mitani; Costume Design by Mebachi; Music by SUGIZO; Music Production by Flying Dog.

Story Setting

Set in the year 2079, the story takes place in a world transformed by the discovery of the “Palmer Crystal” by Dr. Robert Palmer — an energy source that promised to meet all of humanity’s needs. However, the benefits of this hyper energy source have not been shared equally, sparking underground battles for control of it on a global scale. Factory robots originally built to harvest the energy have been repurposed as combat mechs by these underground factions.

Further complicating matters, small quantities of “dark energy” are said to reside within the Palmer Crystal. Attempts have been made to harness this dark energy through hyper AI technology for combat advantages, though whether mechs can truly control it remains an open question. The anime features its own unique world setting, framing Dark Machine as a popular gaming metaverse set “in the not too distant future.”

About the Game

The Dark Machine game — a 7-versus-7 mech third-person arena shooter — was announced in 2023 and entered Early Access in 2024. Developed with Unreal Engine 5, the project raised over US$8.7 million from more than 6,000 investors including Tencent, Web3 platform Immutable, and blockchain company Sui. The game features the blockchain-based in-game currency MACHINA ($MXNA), NFT asset ownership, and an NFT marketplace. Players can install and play without purchasing any NFTs and receive free NFTs to get started.