The Umamusume: Pretty Derby game and anime series is well-known for its distinctive character designs: girls sporting horse ears atop their heads, with hair covering their human ears. However, on January 7, 2026, plush manufacturer Gift issued an apology over a technical mistake on the newly released Vivlos plush. This figure unexpectedly featured both human ears and horse ears.
A rare mishap turns the flawed plush into a collector’s item
On social media forums, fans shared amusing and bewildered photos revealing human ears beneath Vivlos’s hair. According to Oricon, the error stemmed from a sewing mistake. It seems the production team, possibly unfamiliar with the original source, mistakenly added human ears to the final design.
Gift representatives posted on their website: “We discovered that products sold at the Gift & AmiAmi booth during Comic Market 107 (held in late December 2025) contained a defect compared to the original design. We sincerely apologize and will offer exchanges or refunds to customers.”
Rather than anger, the Umamusume community responded with excitement. Many fans consider this a unique collector’s item and predict that these four-eared Vivlos dolls will fetch high prices on online auction sites soon.
This incident comes as the Umamusume franchise is at a peak. After years of anticipation, the international mobile game version officially launched on June 26, 2025, across iOS, Android, and PC (Steam), attracting millions of new players outside Japan.
On the anime front, while the first three seasons are available on Crunchyroll, the latest series Umamusume: Cinderella Gray is streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. All productions come from CygamesPictures, the studio behind hits like Princess Connect! Re:Dive and the upcoming Chiikawa movie.
Fan debates and community reactions
Umamusume’s rising popularity in the West has also sparked controversy. Animal rights group PETA once caused outrage by posting images of the character Silence Suzuka covered in injuries to promote an anti-horse racing message. This move faced strong backlash from fans who view the horse girls as symbols of perseverance and pure sportsmanship.