Anime Tattoos: All You’ve Ever Wanted To Know

Anime is an incredibly popular cartoon genre all over the world, and some hardcore fans choose to show off their love through body art. If you’re getting an anime tattoo, you want to be sure that you’re getting the best artwork possible, as with any tattoo, so it’s important to look into different tattoo styles to see which ones fit best. Some work better than others when it comes to anime tattoos, and not every style does this genre of tattooing proper justice. We offer advice on which tattoo styles are best suited to anime tattoo designs, and show you some of our favorite tattoos out there right now. If you don’t know much about anime, be prepared to make a list of must-see series and films, and get some inspiration into your next tattoo.

New School Anime Tattoo Style

The New School tattoo style is the best one suited for anime tattoos, and there’s a good reason why we say that. This style is known for its bold, vibrant colors, and use of detailing and shading to create depth and a 3D effect. Anime cartoons are also known for a use of bold colors and details to tell a story, so combining these two for a tattoo is the perfect match. New School tattoos tend to feature cartoon-style designs anyway, so your beloved anime characters can easily be depicted in a tattoo using this tattoo style, without having to compromise color, detail or depth. A number of anime cartoons are drawn using a similar aesthetic to the New School tattoos, the only thing you need to do is make sure you find an artist who excels in this particular tattoo style to do the ink for you.

Illustrative Anime Tattoo Style

As far as tattoo styles go, Illustrative works with almost any kind of cartoon-type of design. The only difference between choosing an Illustrative or New School anime tattoo is the level of depth you want – do you want it to have a 3D effect, or do you want a tattoo that looks like a sketch or a painting? Both are great options, but with the Illustrative style, there tends to be more of a 2-dimensional appearance. If you’re looking for an anime tattoo that’s true to the original manga style, Illustrative may be the best style option for your ink.

Japanese Anime Tattoo Style

Japanese style of tattooing is all about sharp angles and over-exaggerated features. This style lends itself really well to anime series that are geared more toward the horror genre, because of the effects such designs can create. The process is normally done by hand, using specialized tools, so it takes longer than those done using tattoo machines, but the experience is a unique one that you’re unlikely to forget. If you want a true Japanese tattoo featuring anime designs, consider going with a Japanese style.

We scoured the internet to find the best anime tattoos that pay tribute to some of the most popular anime series and feature films. We delve into some of these shows, and give you some inspiration by showcasing the designs that we thought made for top notch anime tattoos. Learn about some of the most widely known anime series and gather inspiration for your next tattoo, all in one spot!

If you were a girl in the 90s, odds are you’re familiar with Sailor Moon and her planetary gang. Along with her Sailor Soldiers, the titular school girl turns into her alter ego to fight off dark forces who try to capture the Legendary Silver Crystal, and save the solar system. The show ran from 1991-1997, making a huge cultural impact that lasts even now. Female crime fighters took the stage, and have continued to do so since the show’s run.

There are many design options for Sailor Moon tattoos, and there’s a huge variety of anime tattoos dedicated to Sailor Moon out there. The symbols for each Sailor are a popular choice, as is Sailor Moon’s crystal wand, but we felt that this particular design is one of the best we’ve come across. It encapsulates the heroine herself in her classic post-transformation pose. There’s zero question that anyone who has a tattoo like this is a huge Sailor Moon fan.

Cowboy Bebop is an anime cartoon set in the future following the adventures of a bounty hunter and his associates. This show had a short run in the late 1990s, but is considered one of the greatest anime series of all time. Cowboy Bebop is said to be responsible for introducing a new audience of viewers in North America to anime in the 2000s after its initial run in Japan.

As far as anime tattoos go, this design is a winner. It features the main character and creatively adds some details of the show using his hair as a frame. The spaceship that the characters travel in is just as much of a character on the show as the people in it, so it’s fitting that it would be featured in an anime tattoo that pays tribute to the iconic show. There are tons of design options for anime tattoos of this particular cartoon, but this one is our favorite Cowboy Bebop one so far.

If you know nothing about anime and have never seen an episode in your life, chances are pretty good that you’ve at least heard of Yu-Gi-Oh. The show initially aired from April to October of 1998, spawning a feature film the following year, and then the ever-popular trading cards. The series is about a boy named Yugi who gets bullied while trying to play various games that he loves. He comes across an ancient puzzle, the Millennium Puzzle, which allows his body to act as a host to gambling spirit. Whenever he or his friends are threatened from that point on, he channels this spirit and challenges people with dark hearts to Shadow Games which reveal their true nature.

The show only aired for a few months in one year, but it’s still just as popular among 90s kids as it was then. We chose this anime tattoo of Toon World from the show as our favorite Yu-Gi-Oh tattoo, because of the vibrant colors and more subtle reference to the series. It’s not immediately clear that this is an anime tattoo, it’s one that only true Yu-Gi-Oh fans will get.

Anime tattoos are the perfect way to show your love of the genre, and to rep your favorite characters. You can go the obvious route and have the characters largely featured, or you can take a more subtle approach using symbols and landscapes from your favorite animated series. Whatever option you go with, there’s a ton of room to be creative with your anime tattoo, just make sure you choose a tattoo artist who’s skilled in whatever tattoo style you ultimately want your tattoo to be in.