Now in metal.

⏰ Tue, Dec 23, 2025 @ 12 PM PST
🐟 Published from Seattle, USA
🔨 Built by Chase Burns Broderick

Obviously, 2025 was the year of Pop Mart’s Labubu—but other characters have kept popping in the background.

To put a bow on 2025, I’m dropping some spotlight blogs on my favorite character IP from the year. These are characters and brands that have surprised me, maybe with their fanbases, designs, or partnerships.

First up: Kubo, a buzzcut kid from the city who’s cold on the outside, warm on the inside. In his debut series, in August 2023, he looked like this:

Kubo “Speeding Along” from the Walks of Life series.

Five series later, in December 2025, he’s looking like this:

Kubo “Fading Melody” from the Angel’s Poem series. — Kubo “Fading Melody” from the *Angel’s Poem* series.

Soon, he’ll look like this:

Royal Selangor × POP MART: KUBO: TIN ME 200% pewter figure, shown front-on with the numbered base (0000/2000). — Royal Selangor × POP MART: **KUBO: TIN ME 200%** pewter figure, shown front-on with the numbered base (0000/2000).

The Studio and Creator Behind Kubo

Bao (包包), sometimes stylized as Bao Bao, is the designer of Kubo. Here he is, signing. (I’m the other person 🧍.)

In front of a POP MART / “Pop Toy Show Singapore” photo wall, Bao sits at a signing table holding a small figure while I lean in holding a clear capsule with a blue-lit figure inside. — Pop Toy Show Singapore: presenting my *City of Sunset* pulls to Kubo artist Bao—featuring the lit-up secret figure in its display capsule.

A hand holds a KUBO figure wearing white shorts, posed mid-step on a metallic silver puddle base; the figure has a shiny silver “melting” headpiece and silver drips on the shoulders and arms. — *City of Sunset* close-up: a Kubo “Corrosion” figure with a chrome headpiece and puddle base.

Back view of the same KUBO figure in a hand; the metallic silver head is signed in black marker with small star doodles and the date “2025.8.22.” — Bao’s autograph and drawings on the back of the *City of Sunset* figure (dated **2025.8.22**).

A hand holds the signed KUBO figure (signature on the back of the silver head) while a round metal lid in the foreground shows a black-marker signature, smiley doodle, and the date “2025.8.22.” — The autographed *City of Sunset* figure plus the signed metal lid from the lit-up secret figure capsule (both dated **2025.8.22**).

Public biographical info on Bao and MEØW Studio, the studio behind Kubo, is limited in Pop Mart’s own storefront materials. On product pages for Kubo releases, the “Designer” field is credited as “Pop Mart,” alongside basic specs, not an artist profile. (This is typical for Pop Mart releases and other trendy toy companies.)

Still, the Kubo fans are certainly there—at Pop Toy Show 2025, Pop Mart’s signature annual convention, Bao’s signing lines filled up fast; he had multiple signings, unlike many creators who just had one. Someone showed up in Kubo cosplay; one of the only cosplays I saw at the convention. There were also limited-edition Kubo apparel drops, and those were among the fastest-selling products I brought back from the convention. When I sold products at a holiday market last week, Kubo figures were the most popular by far.

It’s hard not to mention Kubo’s large gay fanbase, myself included. The 2025 Kubo Pride Release basically brought Kubo out of the closet, below. I mean, how would you interpret this?

A screenshot of Pop Mart’s Instagram announcement for the “Kubo Love Wins Figure,” pairing a rainbow-gradient Kubo with the tagline “Own your truth, just like Kubo.”

Kubo, in MEtal 🪨

This Christmas, some collectors are snagging a Kubo made out of pewter.

Royal Selangor, a Malaysian maker best known for creating luxury pewter collectibles, announced limited-edition collaborations with Pop Mart, including "Kubo: Tin Me 200%."

Founded in 1885 by pewtersmith Yong Koon, Royal Selangor positions itself as “the world’s foremost name in quality pewter," sourcing its tin from Malaysia. Their sourcing has completed an independent third-party audit and remains in good standing.

Back view of KUBO: TIN ME 200%, with the oversized “KUBO” logo engraved across the head.

The "Kubo: Tin Me 200%" release is limited to 2,000 pieces with 200 allocated to Royal Selangor. It debuted at Pop Toy Show Singapore on 22 Aug, 2025, and Royal Selangor reported it was designed by Bao around the concepts of Tin (enduring pewter), Time (the evolving moment), and Me (Kubo's confident attitude).

A person wearing glasses and a POP MART “BACK TO PLAY” lanyard holds the pewter KUBO figure on its base at a busy convention booth. — On the show floor (Singapore 2025): Artist **BAO** with **KUBO: TIN ME 200%** in hand—street-art attitude, cast in pewter.

Screenshot of two people at an expo booth holding limited-edition pewter character sculptures. Both wear event lanyards, and a caption below references a Royal Selangor × POP MART pewter showcase for “KUBO: TIN ME 200%” and “Zsiga.” — Royal Selangor × POP MART pewter showcase: **KUBO: TIN ME 200% (0140/2000)** alongside a second limited pewter sculpture of the Pop Mart IP **Zsiga** with creator Wu Dandan.

Online pre-orders opened in select markets on Dec 19, 2025, with deliveries starting Jan 2, 2026. Expectedly, it sold out quickly.

Pop Mart’s regional storefronts list the pewter release at:

Singapore: S$1,199.90 (US $934.17)
Malaysia: RM3,659.00 (US $900.46)
Australia: AU$1,400.00 (US $938.30)
New Zealand: NZ$1,520.00 (US $888.08)
Philippines: ₱49,500.00 (US $842.44)
Thailand: ฿27,900.00 (US $896.73)
South Korea: ₩1,220,000 (US $824.72)
Japan: ¥132,000 (US $844.93)

Kubo, in Rock 🧗

Kubo is familiar with off-the-wall collaborations—in summer 2024, Pop Mart cobranded Kubo with climbing gyms in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, offering climbers a branded climbing route and exclusive stickers and magnets.