By Emily Chan
Born on May 15, 2004, Japanese toy maker Toru Soeya created the Sonny Angel doll.
Sonny Angel is a 2 year old cherub that wears a variety of different pieces of headgear that resembles foods, plants and animals. With a vast variety of official blind box series, over 500 types of Sonny Angels exist.
But besides being “cute,” what makes these indecent babies so popular? What makes them stand out against other collectibles? And more importantly, why are they naked?
There are three main components to the success of the Sonny Angel. These components include: the surprise factor, unique design and popularization with social media events.
The beauty of the blindbox
Every Sonny Angel is packaged in a blind box, meaning there’s no way to tell which Sonny Angel you’re getting. There are currently 58 official mini figure series so far, 50 of which are special or limited edition. Each series includes around 12 possible Sonny Angels.
Each blindbox ranges from $10 to $15 on the Sonny Angel USA website. That said, Sonny Angels can be resold on websites such as Depop, Ebay and Mercari for an average of $11 to $35 depending on the popularity and rarity of each one.
The blindbox aspect of a toy has the potential to be a powerful weapon if wielded correctly.
This is because blind boxes introduce the concept of suspense and surprise into the toy experience.
Furthermore, “Every series of blind boxes, in particular, has one secret figure, which stimulates consumers’ addictive behavior to satisfy their collecting habits and feeling of surprise; many blind box collectors spend a lot of money to obtain a secret figure,” ResearchGate author Yutong Gao says.
Like most blind box series, Sonny Angels normally have one mystery angel, as well as a possible Robby Angel. It’s unknown what type of animal Robby is, but according to the Sonny Angel website, Robby is a good friend of Sonny Angel and often changes color and accessories to match his angelic counterpart.
Both the mystery angel and Robby are extremely rare, with a 1/144 chance of getting a mystery Angel and an even lower chance of finding a Robby.
So, blind boxes and the rarity of the secret figures create an addictive loop: starting with anticipation, and ending either in blissful satisfaction or slight disappointment. Sonny Angel collectors are no exception to this blindbox loop. The blindbox loop makes it so that not only is having one’s desired Sonny Angel exciting, but so is opening one up. It’s essentially this element of uncertainty and surprise that makes Sonny Angels so desirable.
Design
The designs of Sonny Angels are quite unique. Resembling its mayonnaise mascot predecessor the Kewpie doll, all Sonny Angels have a light complection with a face that displays a cheeky side-eye, slight smile, and rosy cheeks to match.
However the most prominent characteristic of the Sonny Angel is that, although some come fully clothed, are commonly seen nude.
Sunstar editor, Jewil Anne M. Tabiolo says that “Sonny Angels’ naked appearance aims to embody freedom from material distractions.”
Therefore, while the nudity of Sonny Angels does drive some people away from them, many collectors don’t mind it due to the idea of freedom and happiness that radiates off of the Sonny Angel doll.
That said, since they all have the same cherub base, each figurine is only distinguishable by their themed headgear and occasional outfit. But it’s this sense of similarity between each Sonny Angel that’s behind the doll’s success. The slight uniformity between every Sonny Angel makes it easy to display all together and collect them by the masses.
Sonny Angels are also the perfect material and size to be transported with ease. Made out of durable plastic and measuring just below 3 inches in height, Sonny Angels prove to be a funky friend people can easily carry around.
The portability of the little cherub is further emphasized by the electronic attaching “hippers.” Hippers are Sonny Angels with a sticky and flat stomach that adheres to devices such as phones, ipads and laptops. Their little arms prop up their heads on the top of the device, making it seem like they’re just popping up to check in on you.
The easier it is for an item to be present in one’s home, workplace and bags, the more likely people are to buy more than one. I mean, why wouldn’t you want a Sonny Angel to bring to school as emotional support, a few on your desk at home and one staring you down as you text on your phone?
But Sonny Angels aren’t just unique in their physical design. They also stand out with their target audience. Unlike other blindbox toys that are targeted towards children, Sonny Angel’s target audience are women in their 20s that are stressed out from the weight of adulting. As a kid, your parents are the ones that decide which toys you’re allowed to get, and, judging by the nudity of the small cherubs, Sonny Angels are less likely to make the cut. But by shifting the demographic to the working class with their own money, the aspect of parental disapproval is eliminated.
Sonny socials
The final pillar that holds Sonny Angels high above competing toy lines is their social media presence.
Though Sonny Angel made his official debut in the Animal Series Ver.1 in 2005, only after the pandemic did the Sonny Angel begin to skyrocket in popularity.
Sonny Angels seem to be figurines that simply beg to have photos taken of them. Across social media platforms, particularly Instagram and Tiktok, images of Sonny Angel collections, Sonny Angels as decor, and new finds flood the algorithm. Sonny Angel is eating lunch with you, traveling the world, taking yearbook photos, scrapbooking, and even getting married.
The rise of Sonny Angels have also brought on the rise of Sonny Angel centered DIYs. This includes creating and selling clothing/accessories for them and drilling holes into their heads to create key chains.
As of January 2024, there are roughly 501,000 posts on instagram under #SonnyAngel. Most of these posts are either in regards to selling crochet or knitted clothing/accessories for them or trading/selling Sonny Angels themselves.
In fact, the trading and re-selling of pre-opened Sonny Angels is one of the biggest components to the Sonny craze. This is because of the demand and community it creates.
Whether it’s at markets such as Soul Real or get-togethers at parks, people have begun to host cherub central events. Joined together through social media, people carry their Sonny Angel collections in clear display cases or layed out on tables and mats. These events allow people to share about the Sonny Angels they’re in search of (ISOs) and add to their collections. Sonny Angel colleting has now ascended from being a solo activity, to a hobby that can lead to a sense of belonging.
Currently, due to the sheer popularity of Sonny Angels, they’ve become much harder to come by in physical retailers. Because of this, the demand for Sonny Angels only seems to grow as people buy stores out shortly after they restock. It’s quite common to see signs attached to empty Sonny Angel boxes claiming that “The Angels have flown away” once more. As a result of the high demand for them, it seems like a blessing from above when one is even able to lay eyes on a few blind boxes in a store. Because of this, people are more prone to purchase a few with the idea that: “I might never get the chance to get this again if I leave them” in the back of their heads.
With a demand that keeps rising as the amount of new series are released, it seems like Sonny Angels only seem to fly higher in popularity.
That said, will Sonny Angels ultimately make the steep descent into despair that other collectibles inevitably face as time pushes forward? Maybe, but until then, I’ll keep on feverishly shaking Sonny Angel boxes in hopes of getting a Robby.
