We are once again talking about Labubus, which we touched on back a few months ago over the summer because they did a collaboration with One Piece and fans went wild. Now for those of you who do not know what these little guys are well…It is a collectable plush toy that has elf/bunny ears and monster-like smiles that include fang-like teeth. They are also very expensive plush toys, even the knock-off versions, affectionately called Lafufus, are rising in cost.
The reason I am once again talking about these weird little guys is because there are now similar plushies for other anime series. These are not part of an official collaboration, but you can tell what type of product they are based off of. It does seem like companies have taken note of the success of Labubus and wanted to see if they could replicate the success with their own versions.
With no big surprise, these new anime plush versions are also pretty pricey, especially for the secret ones (the resale cost on all of these is nuts). First we have the Jujutsu Kaisen ones (called Eaki or cat version), which are based off the characters from the “hidden inventory arc”, and show them in their youth. The characters included are Gojo,Ghetto, Shoko, Toji, Nanami, and Haibara. The special surprise one being a Gojo one that is light blue and doesn’t have. It is interesting to note that both versions of Gojo are hard to find and buy, because everyone just loves him so much (when he’s not even the main character). I hope I’m not alone in wishing for them to do another set of these, with the current cast, and their older selves as we know them. I know I would freak out over Megumi and adult Nanami.
The next set that came out is the Naruto Beast Party, which features all the characters in onesies. It includes Naruto in a nine tailed fox one, Sasuke in a snake one, Sakura in a slug one, Kakashi in a dog one, Hinata in her twin lion fist one, Gaara in his shukaku (one tailed beast) one. There’s also a special one, which is Itachi in a crow onesie. I think this was a great idea for marketing to the Naruto fan base, seeing all these characters in little outfits of the beasts that they summon was cool and super cute. I opened a few blind boxes of these really hoping to get Gaara (he’s just a cute little angry guy), but I got Kakashi and Hinata. Not bad pulls, and still very cute. I don’t think I could be upset over getting any of these, but I was gifted Gaara for my birthday (he is my son and he is with me always now). I have heard some talk of more characters being made with another round of these, so we will have to wait and see.
There is also a Haikyuu set (it’s GONG X Haikyuu),these are not blind box versions. You get to see who you are getting and also pick which ones you want. For these cute little guys there is Hinata in a crow onesie, same with Kageyama. Then you can also pick Kenma or Kuroo in their little cat onesies, these being based off the dumpster battle between the two college teams from the anime. I have not been able to get my hands on any of these little guys and I am dying to have all four of them, it’s too hard to pick between them.
Lastly, I have recently seen that they have made a Love and Deepspace version of these types of plushes. These ones are pretty darn cute, and harder to nab then the others at the moment. Although, I am trying to get my own set of all the guys from the game since I just love it and all the guys so much.
I’m curious to see what the next anime will be Labubu-fied or if any of these ones above will have more coming out to cover more characters or other versions. Though, I do hope the prices start coming down because man, these are getting very pricey. The resellers are also bumping up the prices of these cute little guys, which is making it harder for fans to collect more of their favorite characters and series. What do you guys think about these new type of plush/keychain merch?
Are you a fan of Labubus? What do you guys think about these new type of plush/keychain merch? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
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