Toei’s current Kamen Rider show, Kamen Rider MY-TH (pronounced “mice”), the eighth series of the Reiwa era and the successor to ZEZTZ, has a premise even a Tom and Jerry fan could follow: a mouse Rider against the cat Riders Maou and Rid. Lurking behind them is the Zyunishi Doumei, a Twelve Zodiac Alliance revived after a century’s slumber, whose members are Riders based on the animals of the Chinese zodiac. On 1 November Toei unveiled the Alliance’s horse, Kamen Rider Valtz.
Toei’s selling point is that Valtz is the first Rider modelled on a horse itself. The franchise has done unicorn and pegasus forms before, but never a plain old horse. The timing is deliberate, since 2026 is the Year of the Horse and, specifically, the Fire Horse, a sign with a dramatic reputation in Japanese folklore. Hence, fans suspect, the red in the design. The suit sports a mane that streams back like a ponytail, and some viewers detect a touch of the bullfighter about it, which is an unusual look for the horse. Who wears it remains a mystery. No horse member of the Alliance has appeared on screen yet, and the rumour mill’s favourite candidate is the Riders’ old mentor figure, Akira Amataka.
There’s a lovely gag hidden in the hardware. Valtz transforms with Ride X-Eggs 7, which pairs the horse with a deer, and the same egg gives the hero a Deer Frame. Japanese viewers will spot it at once: put the characters for horse and deer together and you get “baka”, fool. The word comes from an old Chinese tale about a scheming court official who pointed at a deer, called it a horse, and watched to see which courtiers were brave enough to disagree. It’s hard to think of a more Kamen Rider joke than one you need a dictionary and a history book to get.
As ever, the toy catalogue knows more than the viewers. Bandai announced its Tokusatsu Action Figure of Valtz the same day. It stands about 15cm tall, with 38 points of articulation, a mane on an axis joint for windswept posing, three swappable hands and the Valtz Lance. It costs 4,400 yen, with pre-orders opening on 9 November and release on 9 January 2027. The DX Rider X-Eggs Set 03, which includes Ride X-Eggs 7, follows on 21 November for 2,200 yen. A horse with a lance, a ponytail and no known rider: the Year of the Horse has two months left, and Toei has made sure it goes out at a canter.
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