Not every Funko Pop holds its value, and not every “exclusive” sticker on the box actually means anything. The ones worth buying in 2026 tend to share three traits: a character at the peak of their cultural moment, a genuine retailer or manufacturer exclusive (not just a common figure with a shiny sticker), and a design distinctive enough that it doesn’t blend into the hundred other Pops on a shelf. Here are the figures that clear that bar right now.
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Satoru Gojo — Jujutsu Kaisen
Gojo is consistently one of the best-selling anime Pops on the market, and it isn’t close. He’s the character Jujutsu Kaisen is built around, his Six Eyes and Infinity techniques make for a visually distinct figure even in Funko’s simplified style, and demand has stayed high through multiple print runs rather than spiking once and fading. If you’re only buying one anime Pop this year, this is the safest pick precisely because it’s not a speculative bet — it’s the character every JJK fan already wants.
Tanjiro Kamado — Demon Slayer
Demon Slayer has stayed near the top of anime sales charts for years running, and Tanjiro specifically anchors that demand — he’s the entry point character for a franchise that keeps pulling in new fans with every movie release. Funko has run multiple Tanjiro variants (standard, breathing-style action poses, glow-in-the-dark exclusives), which actually helps long-term value: a first Tanjiro Pop is an easy, low-risk buy, and the variant chase is what turns a casual buyer into a collector.
Monkey D. Luffy (Gear Five Pop! Keychain) — One Piece
Gear Five specifically matters here: it’s the newest, most visually dramatic transformation in One Piece’s history, introduced late enough in the story that early Gear Five merchandise carries real “got it when it was new” value the way early Super Saiyan merchandise did for Dragon Ball collectors in the 2000s. One Piece as a franchise also has unusually strong staying power — it’s not a series that fades in two years, which matters if you’re thinking about resale value five years out rather than just display value today.
Naruto Uzumaki (Classic Running Pose)
Skip the exclusives here and buy the plain, standard Naruto in his classic running pose. It’s the figure that’s been in continuous production the longest, which is exactly why it’s the safest entry point into anime Funko collecting rather than the most exciting one — Naruto as a franchise has 20+ years of proven demand, and the classic pose is the version that shows up in “most iconic anime collectibles” conversations instead of getting forgotten as a one-off variant.
Levi Ackerman (Levi with Bandages) — Attack on Titan
This is the one pick on this list that’s explicitly a collector’s play rather than a casual buy. Attack on Titan’s anime adaptation wrapped its story years ago, which means the Pop! lineup for the series is a closed, finite set rather than one that keeps expanding — and closed lineups are exactly where secondary-market value tends to hold or climb, since supply only shrinks from here. The Final Season special edition specifically ties to the most-watched arc of the show, which is the version fans actually search for by name.
Pikachu (Games Line, Waving)
Pokemon Pop!s under Funko’s “Games” line are a different animal from the anime figures above — Pikachu alone has been reissued in more variants (waving, attack stance, sitting, oversized 10-inch and 18-inch versions) than almost any other Funko property, which means there’s genuinely a version for every budget. The standard waving Pikachu is the one to start with if you want the most recognizable, most display-friendly version without chasing an exclusive.
Spider-Man 2099 (Exclusive)
Spider-Man 2099’s jump from a fairly deep-cut comics character to a mainstream name (largely off the back of the Spider-Verse films) is a genuinely useful case study in how a Funko Pop’s value can shift with a franchise’s cultural relevance. Figures of him from before the character broke into the mainstream are worth noticeably more now than they were when they were sitting on shelves at retail price — which is the exact pattern worth watching for with any character riding a current wave of movie or show attention.
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How to Actually Tell If a Pop Is Worth Buying
A few questions cut through most of the hype. Is the character central to their franchise, or a background figure riding someone else’s popularity? Is the “exclusive” label from a real retailer or manufacturer partnership, or just packaging language with no scarcity behind it? And is the franchise still culturally active, or is this a nostalgia play for a show that’s already faded? None of these questions guarantee resale value — Funko collecting isn’t an investment vehicle — but they’re the difference between buying something you’ll actually want on a shelf in five years and buying shelf clutter.
Final Verdict
The strongest buys right now sit at the intersection of a character’s current cultural moment and Funko’s own scarcity mechanics: Gojo and Tanjiro for anime demand that isn’t slowing down, Luffy’s Gear Five for a genuinely new and visually significant transformation, Levi for a franchise whose Pop lineup is now a closed set, and Pikachu for the widest range of price points in one property. None of these require chasing a convention-exclusive variant or paying scalper prices — they’re all figures you can buy today at a fair price and reasonably expect to still want on your shelf next year.
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