Midnight on Memory Lane

Kamen Rider MY-TH Hype Post!!! {Tokusatsu Thursday #5}

Hello, Internet, and good mornight to you all!

My name is Taffryne, shoppekeeper of Midnight on Memory Lane, and it is my absolute delight to welcome you to the BL-type post for this week's gathering of Tokusatsu Thursday

'Tis a pleasure, 'tis a pleasure indeed.

As the title of this post says, we're going to be getting hyped about the upcoming addition to Toei's long-running, live-action tokusatsu franchise, Kamen Rider MY-TH!!!

I humbly present my excitement for your enjoyment and consideration. Accordingly, please mind that there won't be spoilers ahead this time!

MyDramaList Link: click here!

Disclaimer: I apologize if there are any crucial cultural notes or nuances that I misunderstand or fail to recognize. I, unfortunately, must trust the accuracy of the translated subtitles to accurately represent the story and characters.

Quick Background

Kamen Rider MY-TH (natively 「仮面ライダーマイス」) is the 37th Kamen Rider series overall and the 8th series in the Reiwa Phase 1 lineup coming in after Kamen Rider ZEZTZ. It's also airing during the 55th anniversary of the Kamen Rider series as a whole!

The first episode is scheduled to air on September 6, 2026 9:00 AM JST and then every Sunday after that until the end. Episodes with English subtitles will be made available the following Monday at 6:00 PM PDT on the TOEI TOKUSATSU WORLD OFFICIAL Youtube Channel

The two main riders are stylized after a mouse and a cat heavily. Their dynamic is described numerous times as either "a game of cat and mouse" or "the battle between cat and mouse". Their transformation suits are also mouse and cat themed, respectively. Further, the native Japanese title「仮面ライダーマイス」is literally a pun because マイス (maisu) sounds like "mice* and the secondary rider known as "Kamen Rider Maou"'s name seems to also be a pun both mimicking "mouse" and "meow" potentially. They have gone all in on the theme and I'm having fun with every minute of it.

As for adversaries and additional riders, they're going for a zodiac-type theme where each rider of the twelve has a representative animal attached to them. Their transformation items this time around are "Ride X-Eggs" which is interesting.

Now, let's go through all of the teasers posted and I'll tell you my reaction to each one!!!

T/N: I wrote my notes to each video as I saw them come out, so that's why I guess certain things or get surprised later on

KAMEN RIDER MY-TH | Official Teaser (July 4, 2026)

Link: click here!

"Awakening from a Century's Slumber. People's wishes endure, and a falling star becomes a MYTH"

Okay right off the bat, Big Old Red Cat has my attention and they got all of 3 nanoseconds of screentime. MY-TH's outfit is cool too! They've nearly done away completely with your typical grasshopper-ish appearance motifs of previous Kamen Riders and went full mouse-mode.

I love the shiny chrome and light blues to counteract the true ruby jewel tones in Maou's suit. It really sets these two as being in a ying-yang dynamic rather than teammates. The little chese cut-outs on MY-TH are also super fun and adorable. Granted, I don't know if they're supposed to symbolize swiss cheese, but I'll believe it regardless.

The eggs look interesting too! They're nice and palm sized (as eggs are), but I really, really enjoy the detail of having a human hand-print alongside the animal's paw print. It's small, but it makes the eggs look much more "tied" to their motifs, you know?

I think the old silent-film area projector and talk of "MYTH" (not MY-TH) also could bring a new motif into this series: old vs new or antique vs modern. MY-TH's suit is very chromey and futuristic while Maou's goes heavy on looking like it's made of gemstones (an "old" craft). I'll need to see more to be certain.

Kamen Rider MY-TH | Special Production Teaser (July 15, 2026)

Link: click here!

"Two sides that are absolutely destined never to cross paths. Like the future and the past. The group and the individual. And, as opposites, cats and mice."

Okokok, we are very, very clearly going into the realm of that whole opposites/ying-yang thing. Future vs Past, Group vs Individual, Red vs Blue, etc. Honestly, I never though about the past and the future like a game of cat-and-mouse...but now I think I might??? The future needs the past to exist as "the future" while the past needs the future to exist in order to be "the past". Truly a never ending chase and, as they said, two things that are destined (by their own existence, in fact) to never cross paths. Oooh, I'm so keen to see how this will be explored. I wonder if they'll even make it meta in talking about the evolution of Kamen Rider like how the Action Director, Satoshi Fujita, mentioned that for the suit actors, "The waist belt just feels more natural." Is that because of body shape or is that just because that's the traditional manner of wearing it?

Let's talk about the first impressions of the characters though!

Sora Otosumi/Kamen Rider MY-TH (played by Ikuho Akiya)

First off, the cheese shirt, INCREDIBLE! I absolutely adore when costume designers have fun and incorporate a character's motifs into their design in as many ways as possible (be it obvious mouse costume or subtle cheese shirt). He's both the butler and the "meister" (* whichI assume just means the legal adult of the house in this instance*), so either Yuna's parents are both dead or they're both too involved in work. Maybe it's a half-and-half. The cast panel said he's both cool and confident while being unpredictable, so I wonder how that'll play out. More importantly...will he be simply one hell of a butler? Also what exactly does "He doesn't transform to embody a conventional sense of justice" equate to???

Yuna Mizuki (played by Riko Horikawa)

I'm really, really excited that they keep describing "Yuna" as a "hero/heroine" and not just "the girl he takes care of". MY-TH is the main character, but I hope this means that she has an active role within the series and maybe even gets an egg-belt of her own! If nothing else, I just want for her to be a strong character and not a side-lined damsel, you know?

Kamuri Minetaka/Kamen Rider Maou (played by Keisuke Higashi)

OH MY GOD?!?!? First off, I blame precisely two fictional characters for my love of anyone wearing a fedora: Chuuya Nakahara from Bungo Stray Dogs and Neil Caffrey from White Collar. Immediately, I'm hooked on this man. The outfit??? He's got fur and fedora and mob-era pinstripe suits with a cape chain and we're just supposed to stay calm??? "...presence of a final boss...but also kind" OH MY GOD!?!?! I am so, so, so keen to see what his deal is and what happens because LOOK AT HIM!?!?!? THIS man is gonna be a kitty cat??? He's a leader of a certain organization too??? I'm sat. I'm sat so much.

T/N: Good jeez how hot must that costume be underneath the lighting equipment???

Kamen Rider MY-TH | Special Teaser (August 3, 2026)

Link: click here!

Okokok; 100 years ago we've got The Twelve Animal Signs Alliance (I'm just going to call them the 12 Animals Alliance to save keystrokes) that each get assigned an animal from their RIDE X-EGG to fight against monsters called the "Fukashigi". Now, for whatever reason MY-TH here has a belt and the Mouse RIDE X-EGG and the 12 Animals Alliance have woken up. Shenanigans and fights ensue

THE EGG CRACKING TRANSFORMATION? Oh my god that's so fun!!!

So Tatsuomi Asao is the family tutor...hmmm, enemy in hiding or ally in waiting? How do we feel about him? He's clearly playful towards Sora, but that doesn't mean innocence.

YESSS! Oh I'm so happy Yuna has a detective club she leads! It reminds me of Akiko...

So in addition to Maou being the leader and cat, we have...

ALL OF THESE SUITS LOOK SO COOL!!! The bickering, the "do you think you can do this alone"!!! All of it is so excitingggggg!!!

Kamen Rider MY-TH | The Twelve Animal Signs Teaser (August 4, 2026)

Link: click here!

One of my favourite visual backgrounds is sparks and fire admist pouring rain, so immediately brownie points there. The piano picking up as the 12 riders walk to MY-TH was very tasteful. All of them sitting on the ledge in the dark and then MY-tH sitting alone in the light was also just agh.

I didn't quite catch all of their names because of the vocal effects, but I'll get the hang of them as the series goes on! I like how stylized each one is to their animal with the different attack and weapon choices. MY-TH kicking them all to disperse back into their RIDE X-EGG forms leaves me wondering if MY-TH's goal is to collect all the eggs from the 12 Animals or if maybe there will be a corruption arc? Perhaps it'll only boil down to a feud over ideals and values. Maybe that's why the rain transforms into goop? To show the "complication" of it all?

Agghhh, I can't wait to see more!!! The suit designs just look so coooooooooool!!!

Kamen Rider MY-TH | The Twelve Animal Signs Teaser (Cast Reveal Version) (August 24, 2026)

Link: click here!

Okay, so I've frozen at the shot of all...only 9 of them walking towards the camera. Immediately, I like how they all match different fashion styles of their respective era! That helps the characters stay unique while also exploring the whole "we've been at this before you were even a concept" thing amidst the Past vs Future motifs. Why are there only 9 though??? I was expecting 11 because if MY-TH has the mouse egg, then obviously the original mouse isn't around anymore...but wait. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ORIGINAL MOUSE EGG PERSON??? Also why is the one all the way on the far right wearing a mask? Also also, is the "goop" from before actually blood??? Did Maou kill the original mouse??? The final shot of all 12 of them standing there with three of them in complete shadow makes me feel like some of them have died!!! Do the colours change with each user then? MY-TH's eyes are bright blue, but none of the 12 suits have blue eyes. Unless...was "Mouse" not even in the original 12???

Okokok, the we know names are...

Kamen Rider ZEZTZ × MY-TH | A New Chapter Begins (August 29, 2026)

T/N: I've not seen ZEZTZ yet, so I'll be skipping this one. However, here's the link for anyone who wants to watch! click here!

Final Hyper Excited Thoughts!

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god?!?!? I'm so so so excited!!! I have so many questions (as you all have already read)!!! Did people die? Is the "Mouse" a new animal? Are the 12 (well, 9) still friends or did something happen? Maybe only some of them are still friendly? What's the thing Jyao wants to steal? How does Yuna's detective club factor in to this? Is Sora really that dedicated of a butler that he's going to save the world purely for the girl he looks after? What's the backstory there? How did he become a butler? Where are her parents? Are the original 12 all from the same time period or separate ones? Will they become allies or stay rivals/enemies? AGAIN, DID PEOPLE DIE LAST TIME???

Thanks for Reading!

I hope you've been able to watch the videos and look forward to the newest Kamen Rider yourself! If not, that's okay too! My excitement is here to keep you updated and entertained in the meantime.

This caps off this week's gathering for Tokusatsu Thursday, so off into the nighttime we go in preparation for tomorrow!

I hope you'll come back for the next Sunday Midnight Book Club! We'll be discussing chapters 1 and 2 (technically 8 and 9) of Part Two of A Study in Scarlet!

May we meet again at Midnight!