Hot Grrrl Shit

On the surface, Erika Saito is a normal college sophomore. When she entered The Bean near Astor Place, a coffee shop frequented by NYU students, she blended in perfectly with everyone else using their student discounts to order lattes.

Her tote bag read, “He May Bring You Happiness”. This slogan isn’t a vague reference to a boyfriend, some musician, or even Christ. When she sat down at the table, she pulled out a small pink case, no bigger than an iPhone. She unzipped it to reveal 4 tiny naked cherub figurines, just under 3 inches each, adorned in different hats. These figurines are the ‘He’ in question. Sonny Angels. 

They lay perfectly in the uncanny valley between adorable and creepy, and mimic Kewpie dolls, plastic nude babies with round cheeks and big eyes. Kewpie dolls have been extremely popular in Japan since the early 20th century. These Sonny Angels are what set Saito apart from other college students. They’re the reason Saito has amassed over a thousand followers on Instagram, and the reason over 100 people met Saito at Washington Sq Park on April 2nd. Saito has built an online and in-person community around collecting, trading, taking photos of, and celebrating Sonny Angels. 

Saito first got the itch for collectible figurines as a child, growing up in Japan.

 “My mom loved Monnchichi growing up, so I got the collector gene from her,” Saito said.  

While Saito’s love for collectibles may have grown in New York, she’s still very connected to where the love first began.

 “When I and my friends first started collecting Sonny Angles back in 2021, it was literally the peak of Asian hate… it was so weird because I didn’t realize it, but it definitely did allow me to connect back to my culture, and celebrate it in my own way,” she said. 

Of the four Sonny Angels sat on the table, one of them was adorned in print paying homage to Japan’s iconic Sakura, and another wore an apple on its head and a New York T-shirt. Both, rather noticeable, were missing pants.

“In my apartment, I have those and they’re two of my favorite sets, and it’s also like, two sides of my identity,” Saito said. 

Saito isn’t the only one who finds cultural pride packed into these plastic dolls. She’s part of a larger community of immigrants and international students, specifically from Asia, who grew up with Sonny Angels, and now get to see the world embrace their childhood nostalgia. 

But for Saito and hundreds of others, Sonny Angels aren’t just about a connection to a particular culture, or identity. They’re a connection back to childhood carefree playfulness. 

“There is a childlike joy and it’s so pure. My friends and I say opening a Sonny Angel is like opening a present,” she said. 

Nostalgia particularly speaks to Gen Z, who make up a vast majority of the Sonny Angel collecting community.

 “Every single person I follow on Instagram, they’re always like ‘healing my inner child’ and all that… especially in Gen Z, I feel like we’re kind of the generation to experience unwanted change and to want to fix things, and I feel like Sonny Angel, in a way, really makes a lot of people happy,” she said. 

Sonny Angels also serve as a pocket-sized friend or even emotional support. 

“My friends and I, wherever we go, there has to be a Sonny Angel,” she said. 

For Saito, Sonny Angels have been a way to connect with other people and put herself out there comfortably. Despite being profiled by Buzzfeed, and The New York Times, organizing meet-ups, and being one of the most well-known people in the New York Sonny Angel scene, Saito doesn’t consider herself an influencer. 

“I love influencing people…Everyone’s like ‘Where’d you get them’ and I love it. It’s so great! I don’t know why, but I can never imagine myself as a real-life influencer,” she said. 

“It’s obvious how much she cares for the community, from how she helps people find their DISOs (Desperately In Search Of) to her organizing events and meet-ups,” Maddy Cha, a collector, and friend of Saito’s said. 

The influence Saito has gained from Sonny’s Angels is a symbiotic relationship. While she influences others to enjoy themselves and collect all of the 3-inch naked babies their hearts desire, the little cherubs influence Saito to connect with others.

 “I’ve talked to my therapist about it. You know, I have social anxiety, especially with going out in public,” she shared. Now Saito has been drawn out of her shell. If you go to her Instagram, you’ll see a page full of pictures of the iconic Angels taken by Saito in public, something she says she never would’ve been able to do before finding the Sonny Angel Community. 

Beyond growing her personal confidence, Sonny Angels have helped Saito and dozens of others build supportive friend groups. Saito has been able to foster the connections she made trading Sonny Angles online into in-person friendships. 

“I met a lot of people, but the main thing was in-person selling and trading. A lot of the times they’ll be like ‘Oh what’s your zip code’, you know, and three times these people would have the same zip code as me, and I was like ‘Okay let’s just meet up’ and just slowly build connections.” 

The friendships created were spurred by Sonny Angels, but the connections Saito and her friends share span far beyond them. 

“I know that even after the interest fades, the friendships will last,” collector and friend of Saitos, Anna Cotaldo said. 

But Saito’s love for Sonny Angels doesn’t just spread to a few friends, it’s infectious. 

Saito encourages people to collect Sonny’s Angels if they bring them happiness. With the starting price point for each doll only $10, it’s an accessible habit that brings endless returns in joy.

 “I budget for Sonny…it’s fun but I set guidelines,” she said. 

 But Saito understands that they may not bring everyone the happiness they bring her, like her mother, who, though supportive of Saito, will not be starting her own collection anytime soon. 

“I’ve offered them to her before, but she’s like ‘If I keep them, they’re gonna have to have pants.”