I remember the exact moment the "CRYBABY x The Monsters 'Crying in the Woods!'" series was announced. My phone buzzed with notifications from collector groups. The reaction was immediate and electric. It was one of those rare moments in the designer toy world where two completely different, yet equally beloved, universes were about to collide. On one side, you have Kasing Lung's The Monsters, led by the mischievous, toothy Labubu, a creature of adventure and playful chaos. On the other, you have Molly Yllom's Crybaby, a character defined by a state of perpetual, beautiful sadness, with giant, glistening tears as their signature.
Putting them together? It felt like a fan-fiction fever dream come to life. The question on every collector's mind, including mine, was: How in the world is this going to work?
For me, as a seller at PopNya, it was also a business question. Would this be a niche series for hardcore fans of both artists, or would it have mainstream appeal? The search term "labubu cry baby" started popping up in my site analytics before the series even dropped. People were curious. And honestly, so was I. Labubu is all about that wide, slightly feral grin. Crybaby is... Well, the opposite. It's oil and water. And yet, when I finally got my first case in hand, I understood. It wasn't oil and water; it was sweet and salty. An unexpectedly perfect combination.
The Grin Meets the Tear: A Clash of Identities
To really get why this series hit so hard, you have to understand the two IPs.
Labubu is the heart of Kasing Lung's monster world. He's not just a rabbit with teeth, as some newcomers might think. He's curious, a little naughty, and always on the verge of some grand adventure. His design is rooted in European folklore and a sense of childlike wonder. When you collect Labubu, you're collecting little moments of exploration and mischief. It's a happy, energetic vibe. People who don't know the lore sometimes find the toothy grin a bit unsettling, but as collectors, we know the real meaning of Labubu is far from demonic; it's pure, untamed joy.
Crybaby, on the other hand, is an entire mood. Molly's character finds a strange beauty in sadness. The tears aren't a sign of weakness; they're the main event. Each figure is a different flavor of melancholy, lonely, heartbroken, misunderstood. It's a very different emotional language. Crybaby collectors are drawn to that vulnerability and the artistic way it's expressed.
The "Crying in the Woods!" series forced these two identities to merge. It asked, "What happens when the adventurous monster gets lost and feels sad?" The result was a Labubu that wasn't just grinning. For the first time, we saw Labubu and his friends, Tycoco, Spooky, Pato, and Zimomo, experiencing a different range of emotions, filtered through Crybaby's world.
Unboxing "Crying in the Woods!": A Seller's First Impressions
I ordered several cases for the shop, and of course, kept a full set for my personal collection. The box art itself was gorgeous, setting a misty, melancholic forest scene. But the figures... That's where the magic was.
The first one I pulled was "Don't Want to Grow Up," featuring a baby Labubu in a onesie, clutching a bottle and, of course, crying. The execution was flawless. The signature Labubu ears and teeth were there, but the expression was pure Crybaby. The vinyl felt high-quality, with a matte finish that has become a Pop Mart standard.
Then I pulled "I'm Hurt," a Tycoco with a band-aid on its head and a single, perfect tear rolling down its cheek. This is where I saw the genius of the collaboration. It didn't just stick a tear on a monster. It integrated the emotion into the character's story.
My absolute favorite from the regular set is "Sad Cloud." It's Zimomo, one of the most popular characters from The Monsters family, sitting dejectedly with a literal rain cloud over its head. The cloud is a separate, translucent piece that fits over Zimomo's ears. It's clever, beautifully designed, and perfectly captures that feeling of being under your own personal storm. It's also one of the heavier figures in the box, a little tip for anyone still trying to shake-to-guess these, though it's never a foolproof method.
The secret of the series, "Little Wild Wolf," is a Labubu in a wolf costume, howling at the moon with tears in its eyes. This one was, and still is, incredibly sought after. When the series first launched, this figure was hitting $150-$200 on the secondary market, while the retail for a single box was about $17. The hype was real.
The Tiny Detail Nobody Talks About
Here's something you won't read in a product description. After opening dozens and dozens of these boxes for PopNya, I noticed a consistent pattern. The figure "Tender Heart," which features Labubu holding a giant, translucent red heart-shaped "tear," has a minor but common issue. The clear red vinyl of the heart is incredibly soft. Almost every single one I unboxed had microscopic scuffs or faint scratches on it, straight from the factory.
It's not damage, and it's not a defect you can get a refund for. It's just a consequence of the material choice and the packaging process. A new collector might get this and feel disappointed, thinking they got a used or damaged product. But as someone who's seen a ton of them, I can tell you it's normal for this specific figure. It's one of those little "character flaws" you learn to accept as a seasoned collector. It also highlights the importance of knowing what you're buying, especially on the secondary market, where a seller might not disclose this. It's a good reason to be cautious and maybe even read up on how to spot fakes or tampered products, as desperation for a sold-out series can lead to bad decisions.
Another observation: the popularity of the characters was totally scrambled by this series. Normally, any Zimomo or Labubu figure is an instant hit. But in this series, "The Weeping Ghost" (featuring Spooky, the ghost-like monster) was a surprise fan favorite. The design, with Spooky's body being a cascade of translucent tears, was just too creative to ignore. It flew off our virtual shelves.
Real Talk: Is This Series Overhyped?
Okay, let's be honest. Was the Labubu Cry Baby crossover a masterpiece or a momentary hype train?
My take: It's a landmark series that absolutely deserves its place in the designer toy hall of fame. But it's not for every Labubu collector.
If you love Labubu for the pure, chaotic, adventurous energy of Kasing Lung's original vision, you might find this series a little... Depressing. It's beautiful, but it's a downer. It takes our happy little monster and puts him through the emotional wringer. Some of my die-hard Labubu customers skipped this one entirely, saying it "didn't feel like Labubu." I get that. It's like seeing your most cheerful friend suddenly become an emo poet. It's a different vibe.
However, if you appreciate artistic reinterpretations and emotional depth in your toys, this series is a 10/10. It pushed the boundaries of what a Labubu figure could be. It showed that these characters have more emotional range than just "happy" or "mischievous." It also brought a huge number of Crybaby fans into the world of The Monsters, and vice versa. As a seller, I saw so many new customers discover Labubu for the first time through this series. They'd buy a "Crying in the Woods!" figure, fall in love with the character design, and then come back to browse our entire LABUBU collection to see what the "happy" versions looked like.
For me, it's a top-tier series because it tells a story. Each figure feels like a scene from a tragic, beautiful fairytale. It's not just a collection of cute designs; it's a narrative. And that's what separates good designer toys from great ones. It made people feel something, and it even inspired a lot of fan art, similar to the craze of people drawing Labubu in their own styles.
The Crossover's Extended Universe
The success of "Crying in the Woods!" didn't stop with the 3-inch figures. Pop Mart capitalized on the hype with a few other related products that are also part of the "labubu cry baby" world.
There's the "Crying Again Series Vinyl Face Keychain." These are smaller, focusing on just the expressive, teary faces of the monsters attached to a strap. They were a more affordable way for people to get a piece of the collaboration. I found the quality on these to be fantastic, with really crisp paint jobs on the faces.
Then there was the "CRYBABY Crying in the Woods! Series Big Head Bag." This was a plush bag shaped like Labubu's head, complete with the signature Crybaby tears. It's more of a fashion accessory, but it shows how impactful the crossover's aesthetic was. It became an "it" item for a while.
These spinoffs solidified the collaboration not as a one-off blind box series, but as a whole sub-brand for a period. It was a masterclass in marketing from Pop Mart, and a genuinely exciting time to be a collector. It's always fun to see the world expand beyond a standard figure, especially when it's done with care and creativity, unlike some of the more questionable crossovers like the Naruto Labubu series, which had a more mixed reception.
So, if you're a new collector who just discovered this series, is it too late? Not at all. While it's sold out in official stores, you can still find it on the secondary market. My advice is to be patient. Prices have stabilized since the initial craziness. You can often find individual, non-chase figures for a reasonable price. Decide which specific designs speak to you rather than feeling pressured to complete the whole set at once.
This series was a moment in time, a perfect storm of two artistic visions creating something new and unforgettable. It made our favorite monster cry, and in doing so, made us love him even more.
Disclosure: PopNya may earn a commission if you purchase through links on this page.
