Engaging Gen Z women through character quizzes

This article is a part of Startup Spotlight, a series that features young, up-and-coming startups.

Photo credit: Timmy Loen

The founders of Love Chara inc identified a market opportunity at the intersection of Gen Z female-focused IP, character licensing, and AI.

They built an interactive diagnostic quiz to capture this early interest. This product quickly evolved into a broader intellectual property ecosystem targeting Japanese Gen Z women.

😟 Problem

Brands lack an affordable method to engage Japanese Gen Z women. Building proprietary intellectual property from scratch typically requires years of investment. The market also lacks a scalable model combining identity-driven engagement with character commerce.

💡 Solution

The company operates a character ecosystem driven by an initial personality quiz. This funnel directs users into several interconnected engagement channels, including:

• Diagnostic quizzes categorize users and introduce them to specific character intellectual property.
• AI chat interfaces allow users to interact directly with these digital characters.
• B2B licensing enables external brands to leverage the characters for merchandise.

Image credit: Love Chara Inc

🤝 Team

• Eiji Hirayama. CEO. He previously built an artist training studio generating US$4 million in annual revenue.
• Lungying Lin. Founder and head of global business. He previously completed two exits, including the sale of an AI legal system to a major Chinese law firm.

🚀 Traction

• Reached 35 million unique users in its first month with zero advertising spend.
• Secured active partnerships with Bandai, ABEMA, Seventeen, and KADOKAWA.
• Placed character intellectual property in 250 Bandai crane machines.
• Ranked first in Japan’s Teen Buzzword Awards 2025 for its Lovetype product.

🏆 Competition

Traditional character giants like Sanrio and modern collectibles like Labubu dominate the merchandising landscape. These incumbents rely on passive content consumption and physical retail presence. Love Chara inc differentiates itself by using interactive AI and diagnostic quizzes for engagement.

💰 Financials

The startup recently closed its pre-seed funding round and is not currently seeking additional capital. Its monthly revenue previously peaked at 30 million yen (US$190,000) and now averages around 18 million yen(US$114,000), while its monthly burn rate stands at about 1.5 million yen (US$9,500).

CEO Eiji Hirayama has invested over 100 million yen (US$633,000) of his own capital for a 60% stake in the company. Sequoia Capital and SoftBank Singapore have also expressed interest in participating in future funding rounds.

🚩 Risks