coping with angels.
The sonny angel phenomenon
Pop quiz. What’s a sonny angel? C’mon you should know this. If you’re Gen-Z I’m sure this is in your blood now.
Now, I've previously discussed Sonny's Angels here, haven't I? Of course, I have. You must have read my last post, right? (🤨). Of course, you have.
Recently, my wonderful friend Archie had gone to visit L.A. and returned disappointed over the absence of Sonny’s Angels. She lamented for hours as she had even reserved a portion of her savings account for them. At that point, I wasn't fully grasping the hype around these little baby toys until she explained how difficult they were to acquire due to others snatching them up. So, it was the marketing driving the frenzy? I remained perplexed but apparently not for long.
About two weeks ago, while en route to inspect my exam site, I picked up my friend to join me for examining the site and then indulging in a bit of exploration, given that my exam site was about an hour away and not in our usual hometown area.
Anyway, like typical twenty-somethings, we were gallivanting around and decided to visit a specific store in the area. Lo and behold, we stumbled upon the haven (or is it the hell? or perhaps the purgatory?) of Sonny’s Angels. Keep in mind, each of these babies’ retail for over $10, some even fetching $50 or more depending on the design. Each box is a mystery, with the angel's identity concealed. Some individuals even bring mini scales to the stores to weigh the boxes, hoping to get their desired angel.
This Sonny’s Angels gathering took us by surprise. We didn't expect to walk into this particular store and encounter a pop-up event. I started asking questions (as one does), and it turned out that these multitude of angels weren’t actually for sale; they were there for trading. Booths and booths of adults with cases and cases of angels. Quick flashback to Pokemon card trading and Littlest Pet Shop trading, both of which were also expensive hobbies back in the day.
While I was apprehensive about meeting these traders, they turned out to be some of the sweetest and most intelligent people I had encountered in the past year (and that's saying something). These traders are skilled and simply aiming to foster a community around these little angels.
The more questions I asked, the more delightful individuals I met. I encountered one particularly stylish girl walking over to the display cases, clutching a cherry Sonny's Angel (please look this one up). I asked her where she bought it and where I might find one. There was no gatekeeping here. She admitted sheepishly that one of the traders was selling a few on the side, and she had purchased hers for $25.
I stared at her, mouth agape (naturally). She said, "I know, I know, but I'm not a collector, and this is the one I really wanted." To this, I simply nodded.
It would take hundreds to find the one you would want right? Take a look at some of these collections which could quite possibly border thousands of dollars.
At first, my friend glanced over at me and said “I’m scared of adult money”
after seeing the sheer magnitude of the collections in front of us, this being said, a quick google search brought me more info on these angels and in a way, made me adore them a little bit more.
Genius. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but once I moved to college, I found myself watching familiar cartoons to pass the time or when feeling upset. There was something soothing about it to me. This extended to carrying anything that represented my childhood, from Marvel tee-shirts to cool Lightning McQueen jackets. Looking around, I realized that many others were reverting back too, but the question remained: why? My psychology class shed some light on this concept—a form of age-regression used to cope and seek comfort. Whether it's healthy or not, I'm not sure I want to delve into that. Watching old cartoons brings me joy, and it's fascinating to see successful people embracing their cool collections with pride. Upon further inquiry, I discovered that many of these individuals began their collections during COVID. Suddenly, it all makes sense, doesn't it?
Toru had expanded sonny’s angels to have categories like “fruit” and “farm” so the angels would carry “apple hats”, “elephant hats”, etc etc, as you can see below.
The same girl from earlier kindly provided me with locations where I could buy these angels, as well as places to avoid due to upcharging. Suffice it to say, the community was more than willing to answer my questions and assist me.
Anyway, here are some more photos from the event, so you can see the sheer magnitude of the collections. I'd also like to mention that when I asked permission to take photos, everyone was more than happy to display their angels and smile for the camera. So, in a way, thank you Toru for making everyone so happy!
Some even sold clothes for the angels, as you can see below:
If you’re curious, I’ve included the sonny’s angel website for your browsing leisure.
Here’s the sonny angel website: https://sonnyangelusa.com
Thought this would be a fun experience to write about, maybe dip my own hand in a tiny bit of investigative journalling (if you can call this that). Hope you enjoyed reading this piece and maybe even getting an angel in the future!
with love and angels,
riya
When I first came across them on tiktok I thought they were creepy… after a closer look I now want one haha