Last October, it was revealed that Hiroya Oku’s sci-fi manga “GANTZ” is being adapted as two live-action films, starring Kazunari Ninomiya (26) and Kenichi Matsuyama (24). It has now been announced that actress Yuriko Yoshitaka (21) is taking on the heroine role.

The story revolves around two young men named Kei Kurono (Ninomiya) and Masaru Kato (Matsuyama) who should have died in a train accident, but a mysterious entity known as GANTZ brings them back to life and sends them on missions to hunt down alien beings.

Yoshitaka will play the role of Tae Kojima, Kurono’s classmate at university. A pure romance develops between the two characters, contrasting with the brutal violence that Kurono and Kato engage in for their missions under GANTZ. Yoshitaka will also participate in some action scenes (including wire-action).

Both of the “GANTZ” movies are scheduled for 2011.