Is your hatred of Funko Pops for purely ideological reasons?

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Aunt Carol

Aunt Carol

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I feel bad because mine is not.

The first time I saw a Funko Pop, I thought: "yuck."
Then I saw more of them and I thought, "so that's the style of this whole toy line? Yuck."
Then I just ignored them.

Only later did I realize that they were Beanie Babies for Redditors, and the pressure valve for ignored fandoms. If there's only one piece of official merch for your obscure blorbo, it's a Funko Pop with no thought at all put into the design. And after that I saw the Funko Pop walls and rooms.

But my first feeling was just "yuck." If I hadn't had that emotional reaction, would I be a Funko person now?

I've read Kafka's "A Hunger Artist" and I think about it a lot.
 
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Squanto Airi
Even just calling them ugly and sovlless is ideological, as it pertains to the hollow, sovlless mass consumerist ideology modern nerddom is in. Owning a funko shows you care more about looking like you enjoy a work and showing it off to people rather than simply enjoying the work.
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Arbiter said:
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They picked a really bad character to compare; that's the most life I've seen in any Funko pose.

Nendoroids seem like the start of the slippery slope to BJD collecting and modifying, but a little plastic guy you're supposed to pose, and swap out the hands/faceplate/tiny little weapons, is automatically more fun than a little plastic guy that just stands there.
 
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I liked when they were a small line of batman vinyls that seemed to only be a brief little collectible thing, but only really liked the joker one. Not enough to buy it full price so I never got it. Their current form is a plague and for every somewhat decent looking one there's 200 dogshit ones.

I have the dalek one, it doesn't look like a funko pop both because it was from the time they were still doing somewhat unique sculpts for shit and also because they couldn't cram it into the default garbage look. As such, it's just a kinda ok little stylized figure for a shelf. Yes I did not keep it in the box fuck that shit.
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Also jesus christ I just realized that was 10 years ago now, holy FUCK I am fucked in terms of time. Things have been in the same stagnant hell loop for TEN. FUCKING. YEARS.
 
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In a vacuum, on their own, they're just cheap looking, but ultimately harmless. It's why I don't begrudge somebody having one on their shelf that their clueless relative gave them as a present.

The collection of them is where the ideology comes in and THAT'S when the pure hatred and judgement seeps in.
 
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It's because every time I see them I'm reminded I have to share living space on this planet with literal niggercattle who can be gaslit into buying anything as long as they believe other people are doing the same.
 
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I won't repeat points already listed. One I didn't see mentioned is how they automatically ruin whatever aesthetic you're going for. At least other collectables (Vinyls, anime figures, video game memorabilia, music or movie posters, etc) can look cohesive and "good", even if I don't care for whatever fandom or genre it is. But Funko Pops literally do not go with anything else. I have seen so many rooms where they have a bunch of cool posters and figures, then in the middle you see these ugly plastic figures that simply do not go together. It clashes with everything and it's an eyesore.

I suspect that's why so many people have Funko Pop rooms, not only because they're consooomers but also because they couldn't figure out how to make them fit in with any of their other decor.
 
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The demographic of people who collect them aside, I always just thought they looked ugly and didn't really have any use. I collected figs as a hobby for a little while (stopped because shit is expensive and even that little collection I had was a bitch to store) and I always looked for something that I could admire and learn from as an artist, whether it's the sculpting and material, paint job or just how different companies design the joints. They're great for reference or plain decor (you can't tell me having a big ass Diablo statue on your desk isn't cool), bonus points if it's from a franchise I really like and already draw inspiration from.
I think a lot of people who collect figures already come from spaces where they make their own stuff like doll customizing, 3D modelling/printing, BJD or painting minis for D&D/WH40k.

Funko has none of those qualities, it's a static figure (nothing wrong with those, they often make up the lack of versatility with stellar presentation) and a lot of them suck at portraying the character they're supposed to. Silhouette is important in character design and all of it is lost in favor of a boring blocky mold. At least Squishmallows can be used practically as small pillows even if they also suffer from the same design flaws. But even Squishmallows did a better job at portraying characters from other IPs better than Funko ever did. (Like the Pokémon collab)
The only good thing I can say about Funkos is the price and availability, but that's a double edged sword.
On one hand it makes for a funny gag gift (had a friend who was gifted one and said Funko ended up being swapped between the whole group for each birthday like a hot potato) on the other it's destined to fill a landfill as there's really not much value to them, even for people who collect figures. The only people who buy them I've seen just leave them to collect dust on a shelf.
 
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CoolFool said:
I won't repeat points already listed. One I didn't see mentioned is how they automatically ruin whatever aesthetic you're going for. At least other collectables (Vinyls, anime figures, video game memorabilia, music or movie posters, etc) can look cohesive and "good", even if I don't care for whatever fandom or genre it is. But Funko Pops literally do not go with anything else. I have seen so many rooms where they have a bunch of cool posters and figures, then in the middle you see these ugly plastic figures that simply do not go together. It clashes with everything and it's an eyesore.

I suspect that's why so many people have Funko Pop rooms, not only because they're consooomers but also because they couldn't figure out how to make them fit in with any of their other decor.
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Further proof to your point: 99% of the time, they keep them boxed too. :story:
Even they know the figures themselves suck and it's mostly about bragging how much you CONSOOM, so you stack your wall; pure quantity over quality.

I'm friends with a guy who runs a toy shop and Funkos are the bane of the business; he hates them, refuses to buy them and yet is still obligated to have a full wall of his shop dedicated to them, unfortunately.

This video is pretty good and the best part involves the "biggest Funko collector" and his interview and even he flat out can't say why he *likes* them or why he's spent so much beyond essentially "I HAD TO BE THE BIGGEST OF THE FAD, I WIN"
 
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