How Labubu transformed China’s ‘guzi’ craze into a global culture of joy
Across China’s fast-moving consumer landscape, joy has become a serious business. Born from the fandoms of anime, comics, and gaming (ACG), the so-called “guzi” economy now turns emotional spending into a thriving cultural industry. Derived from the English “goods,” guzi refers to a vast array of spin-off merchandise tied to popular intellectual properties: blind-box toys, […]

