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Okay, let's be honest. When POP MART announced The Monsters x One Piece series, we all knew who the headliners would be. Luffy. Zoro. Maybe Chopper. They're the icons, the ones you expect to see fly off the shelves. And they did. But as the dust settled and collections started to take shape on shelves around the world, a different character quietly stole the show.
It was the Brook Labubu.
I've handled hundreds of these figures through my shop, PopNya. I've unboxed cases, sorted characters, and talked to countless collectors. And the conversations about this series always circle back to the lanky, afro-rocking skeleton with the violin. It's the one figure that even non-Labubu collectors, the hardcore One Piece manga fans, are desperately trying to track down.
It's not the rarest. It's not the "secret" or "super secret" chase figure. So what's the deal? Why is this one regular-ratio figure the true heart and soul of the entire collaboration?
A Crossover That Was Written in the Stars (and the Grand Line)
Most designer toy collabs are pretty straightforward: take a popular character platform (like Labubu) and slap a popular IP's costume on it. It's fun, it's cute, it sells. But every once in a while, a collaboration achieves something more. It creates a figure that feels less like a costume and more like a destiny.
That's the Brook One Piece Labubu.
If you're not deep into One Piece lore, here's the short version that makes this figure so brilliant. Brook, the musician of the Straw Hat Pirates, has a heartbreaking backstory tied to a giant, loyal whale named Laboon. He promised Laboon he would return after circumnavigating the world. Decades later, Brook, now a living skeleton, is still trying to fulfill that promise.
And what is Labubu? A monster. A creature from a fantastical world created by Kasing Lung. The name itself, LABUBU, sounds an awful lot like LABOON.
Coincidence? I think not.
This isn't just Labubu wearing Brook's clothes. This is a thematic fusion. It's a monster cosplaying a character whose best friend is a monster. The synergy is so perfect it feels like Kasing Lung and Eiichiro Oda (the creator of One Piece) planned it over drinks. This depth is what separates it from, say, Luffy Labubu. Luffy is cool, he's the main character, but the design is basically "Labubu in a straw hat." The Brook figure tells a story. It has an emotional resonance that hits different, especially for fans who know the source material. It's a nod to one of the most touching arcs in a 1000+ chapter saga, condensed into a 3-inch vinyl figure.
Unboxing the Soul King: A Seller's Quality Report
As someone who sees these figures day in and day out, you start to notice the little things. The One Piece series, in general, has a fantastic build quality. The matte finish on the vinyl feels premium, and the paint applications are mostly crisp. The Brook figure, however, presents a unique set of production details.
First, the accessories. Brook comes with his signature violin and bow. These are tiny, separate pieces. The violin is surprisingly detailed for its size, with the f-holes and scroll sculpted in.I had two separate customers mention that the bow snapped when they tried to fit it into his hand too forcefully. Later batches seem to have corrected this with a slightly more pliable material. It's a tiny change, but it shows POP MART is listening to feedback.
The figure itself is a marvel of balance. Brook's design is topped with a huge, fluffy afro, which Labubu's giant ears and top hat mimic perfectly. You'd think this would make him incredibly top-heavy, but he stands perfectly stable. The weight distribution is spot on.
One minor thing I've consistently observed is a faint seam line on the side of the top hat. It's not a defect, just a byproduct of the molding process for that specific part. It's invisible from the front, but if you're a stickler for perfection, it's there. Does it detract from the figure? Not at all. In fact, these little quirks are what make physical collecting interesting. It's also a good way to start learning how to spot counterfeits; often, the tells for a fake Labubu are in these tiny manufacturing details that bootleggers get wrong.
The Market Anomaly: How a "Common" Figure Became a Grail**
This is where things get really interesting. In a typical blind box series, the value is in the secrets. A standard blind box from this series retails for about $17. The "super secret" Gold Luffy can fetch upwards of $500. That's expected.
What's not expected is for a regular, non-secret figure to consistently sell for 2-3 times the price of the blind box itself.
As of writing this, I regularly see the confirmed Brook Labubu figure selling for $40-$50 on secondary markets. We've sold it for that price in our own shop when we have confirmed singles. Why? It's a simple case of demand overwhelming supply in a very specific way.
The regular Labubu collector who buys a case will get one Brook. They might keep it, they might trade it. But then you have this massive, external wave of demand: the One Piece fandom. Millions of fans who might not care about Labubu at all, but they need this figure because of its connection to Brook and Laboon. They aren't buying cases; they're hunting for this one specific character.
This creates a demand profile completely different from any other figure in the set. It also makes "box weighing" or "shaking" a fool's errand. People think they can identify a figure by the rattle. Sure, Brook has a violin that might make a sound, but so does Usopp with his slingshot and Franky with his... Well, his general bulk. Trying to guess is a great way to end up with three Choppers.
This is a phenomenon I also saw with the Naruto Labubu collaboration, where certain characters with strong fanbases (like Itachi) commanded higher prices than their pull ratios would suggest. But with Brook, the effect feels even more pronounced because of the deep lore connection.
Real Talk: Is the Brook Labubu Worth the Hype?
So, here's my honest take as a collector and seller.
Yes. Absolutely, 100%.
The hype is completely justified. This isn't a case of artificial scarcity or influencer-driven madness. The Brook One Piece Labubu is popular for the best possible reason: it's a genuinely fantastic, well-thought-out piece of art. It respects both the world of Kasing Lung's Monsters and the world of One Piece. It's a celebration of character and story, which is what good character design is all about.
It reminds me of the discussions around the real meaning of Labubu's design; it's a creature that can be mischievous, cute, or even a little spooky. Brook embodies all of that. He's a goofy, perverted skeleton who tells bad jokes, but he's also a tragic figure of immense loyalty and a fearsome swordsman. The figure captures that duality.
If you're a Labubu collector, this is a must-have for its unique place in crossover history. If you're a One Piece fan, this is arguably the single best piece of merchandise to come out of the POP MART collab. It's a small, perfect tribute to the Soul King.
If you're on the fence, my advice is to get it sooner rather than later. Unlike the main characters who will likely be featured in future collabs, Brook is a supporting character. This might be our one and only chance to get him in Labubu form, and as the series goes out of print, the price for this specific fan-favorite will only climb.
Every time I see this little guy on my shelf, it makes me smile. It's not just a collectible. It's a tiny monument to a great story, a testament to what happens when a collaboration is done with heart. It's the kind of figure that defines a collection.
And in a world of endless blind boxes and hype cycles, finding a figure with that much soul is a rare treasure indeed. If you're looking to start your own treasure hunt, you can always browse our full LABUBU collection and see what other monsters are waiting to be discovered.
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