When a limited-edition figure of LABUBU, a pop fairy born in Hong Kong, and Myakmyak, the official character of Expo 2010 Osaka-Kansai, went on sale in October, the lottery at the Expo site was multiplied by 700. The figures are still being resold on flea market sites at high prices, and their extreme rarity has become a topic of conversation. Myakmyak and Lovebu were unexpectedly out of the top ten! In addition to the shocking ranking, what is a once very popular character that received “only 3 votes”? This website conducted an emergency survey of 300 women in Generation Z on “the character they are most crazy about right now,” and while there seems to be an unprecedented “Lovebu boom” and “Myakmyak boom” on social networking services, does this really reflect the real passion of Generation Z (teens and 20-somethings)?
The impact of the lovebub boom! Only 8% “like” it
The results of …… show that only one person out of 300 responded that they liked “lovebub” the most, which is a surprising number. About 8% of all respondents had a favorable impression of “cute” or “likeable,” while only 8% said they “don’t know or have no interest in it. On the other hand, about 50% of the respondents said they “don’t know or are not interested. About 23% of the respondents had negative feelings such as “not cute,” “scary face,” “not good at it,” or “dislike it. On social networking sites, there were also a few comments such as “scary to see at night” and “looks like something out of a horror movie,” suggesting that there is a resistance to the “toxicity” of the character. To begin with, “Lovebu” is a character created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, and is the main product of POP MART, a toy manufacturer based in China. The character is a “fairy” with jagged teeth and devilish horns, and its “fusion of cuteness and venom” was popular among overseas and certain segments of the population, and it became an explosive hit when Lisa of the Korean girl group BLACKPINK introduced it on her SNS. One of the factors that have contributed to the popularity of the product is its sales format. The “blind box” format, in which the customer does not know which lovebug is inside until the box is opened, and the collector’s desire to collect rare items have stimulated even greater enthusiasm for the product. Currently, supply is not keeping up with demand, and the product is in short supply and difficult to obtain. However, while they are rare and sold at high prices on flea market sites, the result that “the majority are indifferent or negative” highlights the reality that the enthusiasm of celebrities and influencers on social networking sites has not spread widely among the general Generation Z population. Some of the comments were scathing, such as “the image of Minato-ku girls” (Kanagawa, age 22), “meek and rich people tend to put it on their brand bags to show off their authority” (Hyogo, age 22), and “it looks like Monchich and Monchich is cuter” (Tokyo, age 16). Myakmyak, a very popular character created at the Expo, was not as popular among Generation Z as expected, with only one person answering “I like him the best. The official stores opened in Osaka and Tokyo are said to be very successful, but it seems that the character has not grown to become a national character that would involve Generation Z. At the time of his debut, Myakmyak was feared as a “zombie” and a “monster” even by foreign fans. Although it firmly captured the hearts of Expo rubbers and some fans, comments such as “The color and shape are disgusting” (Iwate, age 13) and “The character itself is simply creepy” (Tokyo, age 16) were received. It seems that due to the strength of their visuals, they were not able to become number one for many Gen Z girls.