Japanese startup Love Chara is using personality quizzes as the entrance to a broader character business aimed at Gen Z women, according to a Tech in Asia startup profile.
The model begins with a diagnostic quiz that assigns users a character or identity. Love Chara then tries to carry that interest into AI chats with the characters, branded merchandise and licensing deals with outside companies.
Tech in Asia says its profile was produced with AI assistance, edited by staff and based on information supplied by the startup. That sourcing matters: the user and revenue figures in the story are company claims, not independently audited results.
From quiz result to merchandise
Love Chara’s funnel has three connected parts. Quizzes categorize users and introduce character intellectual property. AI chat interfaces let users interact with those characters. A business-to-business licensing operation then offers the characters for merchandise and brand campaigns.
The company says it has active partnerships with Bandai, ABEMA, Seventeen and KADOKAWA, and that its characters have appeared in 250 Bandai crane machines. Its Lovetype product ranked first in Japan’s 2025 Teen Buzzword Awards, according to the profile.
Big reach, harder retention question
Love Chara claims it reached 35 million unique users in its first month without advertising. It also says monthly revenue peaked at ¥30 million and now averages about ¥18 million, against a monthly burn rate of roughly ¥1.5 million.
Founder and CEO Eiji Hirayama has invested more than ¥100 million of his own money for a 60% stake, the profile says. The startup recently closed a pre-seed round and is not currently seeking more capital.
The open question is whether a popular quiz creates a durable attachment to the characters. A one-time result can spread quickly on social media, but licensing and merchandise depend on people continuing to identify with the characters after the initial curiosity fades. Love Chara’s partnerships give it distribution, while also making part of its growth dependent on outside brand and retail decisions.
