Tales from My Funko Pop Shelf 1

Target Exclusive Aggretsuko (Date Night) and Fallout 76 Mothman boxed...

Tchotchke, whether ceramic figures, thimbles or salt and pepper shakers, each Funko Pop in my burgeoning collection has a story behind its purchase. Sometimes it is an extension of appreciation for a recent comic book title or film or, more often than not, it is because the character appeals to a sense of nostalgia. Occasionally it is simply random purchase due to its design. More anecdote or vignette, than full bore "story", as a means of writing practice, I thought I'd share some of the personal backstory behind some of the more interesting Pops in my collection beginning with two of my more recent additions.

Though not of the Point Pleasant variety, I came across the Fallout 76 Mothman at a small boutique-style store in a local mall. Background regarding the character within the context of the game was not included on the box, so in my head it will continue to be a tribute to one of America's premiere cryptids. As a child, copies of my father's Weekly World News were required breakfast-time reading, so my appreciation of this American original began at a young age. I am unfamiliar with Fallout 76 and it's accompanying line of Funkos, so it was nice to come across something new and distinctive in the wild. Additionally, because I always seem to miss out on reasonably priced versions of the multitude of Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti exclusives released as part of the "Funko Myths" line (at increasingly exorbitant third party prices), I did not want to pass this up. More insectoid than the slightly more humanoid Mothman of cryptozoology legend, the bright red eyes and imposing stature remain consistent with the Mothman of Virginia folklore thereby deserving of a spot on my shelf.

Not too long ago I came across the anime-esqu stylings of the Evan with Higgedly Funko Pop of the Ni No Kuni: Revenant Kingdom line on the discount table at a local rpg store. On a recent stop at Target, the Aggretsuko (Date Night) exclusive caught my eye. Since my manga collecting days of youth (okay, more like my early twenties) I have always appreciated the anthropomorphic chibi design of some Japanese characters. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the character design, Aggretsuko was developed by the same company that spawned Hello Kitty, Sanrio. Season 1 of the web show on which this series of Funkos is based, Aggretsuko, currently streams on Netflix, so I was able to catch a few episodes following my purchase. The narrative background provided therein only increased my appreciation of Aggretsuko. The descriptions from the Sanrio website follows almost word-for-word that on the Funko box that describe her as "a single, 25 year-old red panda. Yet despite her cute appearance, something deep within her is filled with rage." That perfectly describes the show. The juxtaposition between the overall character visual designs, post-collegiate angst, and death metal is an incredibly entertaining one. That fact that Aggretsuko carries her own mic to nightly decompression sessions of karaoke only takes things the next level of excellence. Of course, now I need to tack down the Aggretsuko (Rage) Funko to balance out my own collection.

... and unboxed!