PUNTABLE GUY OF THE MONTH
Story - GRAPHICS - by CARISSA BRANESKY
You know them, you love them, you shove them on your shelves and on your car dashboards. The small puntable guys that we all collect, whether they are stuffed animals, plastic figurines, or funny little blind box prizes that you drag with you everywhere, everyone seems to have a portable-sized lad with them these days. Smiskis are dominating the collecting world right now. Their expressionless faces and small greenish-blue glowing bodies are oh-so pleasant and calming, but they are a more mysterious and maybe more concerning concept than we might think. So, who are these puntable guys of the summer, what’s their story, and are they worth the mass consumerism?
If you’re into little guys, you’ve probably heard of Sonny Angels. They’re cute, naked, and have small ahem appendages. Both Smiskis and Sonny Angels are made by Dream Inc., a Japanese toy manufacturer that is one of the largest names in the blind box market. Blind boxes are a booming business, with apparently a 13.5 billion-dollar industry in the making. Cute small things have huge cultural capital in Japan, and it’s no surprise that they have curated the perfect little man. In Japan, celebrating cute things is promoted, regardless of age. An intense work culture is counteracted by an acceptance and encouragement of cute, enjoyable things. Smiskis are meant to be small, mysterious creatures that hide in nooks and come out to play during the night, hence why they glow. They’re made of phosphorescence, a material that, when exposed to light, will emit a greenish glow. Ever had a retainer that glows in the dark? That’s what it’s made of. Their genderless form is meant to appeal to anyone, and their vibes are supposed to cause a feeling of peace.
Why do we buy these little guys? A study titled Research on Blind Box Consumers—Taking Pop Mart as an Example by Xiaolin Chen explains that three main factors influence us to purchase these puntable dudes. These three things can meet certain psychological needs we desire to fill. The first one is the feeling of belonging. With social media, we can all see these small inanimate guys in a way that we probably wouldn’t otherwise, unless strolling through a niche section of a toy store. When millions of people are buying this small cute thing, it compels us to follow along. We not only get the joy of consuming but also the joy of being accepted. The second is the
curiosity of the mystery box. We all know the joy of opening a present, not knowing what’s inside, the possibilities, and the hope. It creates a strong psychological urge to participate in prize-seeking behavior. There’s also nostalgia and the yearning for childhood and healing our inner children, rhetoric that has become very popular in the last ten years. We desire life before the stresses of the world and think a small guy will take us back to that simpler time.
We’ve seen with the rise of Labubus that little guy culture can take the world by storm in a matter of months and end up choking our landfills full of cheap plastics and blinding us into following the masses with their cute little faces. It’s not surprising that the rise of social media has created a hydra-like monster when it comes to consuming fun small things. You cut one head off, “Labubus,” and another bag charm will have filled its place. We have to be aware that our brains have been uniquely hardwired by social media companies to desire what is being sold to us on these platforms. It takes advantage of our desires for acceptance and our need for approval, and then we feel compelled to consume. A great article from the University of California, Irvine, titled Sonny Angels and Smiskis: The Environmental Impact of Your Small Friend, invites us to explore other avenues of consuming small little guys that are less harsh on the environment. Reselling or figures made of more eco-friendly materials are listed as being more conscious while still being able to participate in consuming these small friends. Little guys can bring a lot of joy, joy that is needed in a cruel, enduring adulthood, but remember to shop with care and maybe cherish one or two little guys more than dozens of different ones.