45+ Anime Tattoo Designs and Ideas

By Jason Hamilton / March 24, 2018
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In the ever-expanding world of tattoo designs and ideas, it can be quite hard to come up with something new and unique. Sometimes, we simply reach to other, lesser-known cultures to find inspiration and originality and thus, the anime tattoo is born. It has grown quite popular in recent years, even outside of Japan. There are people who might find it a bit too childish to get an anime tattoo, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be so. You just need to get to know it a little better.

You might be surprised, as even fascinated that in the world of anime, there’s really something for everyone. Let’s dig in a little deeper to get you inspired to have an anime tattoo inked.

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A Little Bit of History on Anime

To those who are not informed well, anime may seem like just a bunch of weird-looking, colorful cartoons of creatures from the land of the rising sun. Still, a true anime enthusiast might get offended if you compare anime to run-of-the-mill cartoons such as Sponge Bob Squarepants.

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First, you need to know what manga is because that’s where it all started. Manga is a Japanese version of the common Western comic book. It is well known for its drawing style and coloring and the unusual reading process wherein you start from the back and work your way to the front.

Anime is actually manga but brought to life by means of animation, either done old school as an analogue movie or by using computers to create a digital moving picture.

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The big difference between Western-style cartoons and anime is that we’ve grown accustomed to the fact that cartoons are mostly meant for children, while anime can be for all age groups.

Some of them feature quite dark and serious themes, and some are only adult oriented.

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Once you’ve seen an anime, you’ll instantly recognize the animation style each time you stumble upon it again. Characters commonly have big eyes, small noses, and exaggerated hairstyles.

Female characters usually have big breasts, an advanced sense of fashion, and all other attributes which make them very sexy, with a slight accent on childlike looks. Male characters often look very similar, and they resemble some sort of rebellious warrior.

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Which Way to Go?

Basically, there are two ways to go if you’re into having an anime tattooed on your body. You can opt for an anime character or you could go for something outside the realm of anime, and get it done in a way that resembles an anime tattoo design. Imagery that goes with these characters is very powerful, and they can often convey very strong philosophical messages, far beyond what its initial impression might suggest. Of course, not all of them got to have some hidden, deeper meaning. Some people get anime tattoos of their favorite characters simply because they’re fans.

Anime Tattoo Ideas You will Surely Love

Let’s look at some of the most popular characters from the incredible world anime which may inspire your next anime tattoo.

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Dragonball

This anime franchise has been a household name since the latter half of the eighties. Spurring a total of 867 episodes, Dragonball had garnered a large fanbase due to its complex storyline and amazing old-school animation.

One of the main characters, Goku, is often seen as the mascot of the franchise wherein you will often see him tattoed on the body of Dragonball fans.

Here are some of the anime tattoo designs from Dragonball that caught our attention:

1. A tattoo of Vegetta.

2. A tattoo designed to look like the skin is ripped and revealing the clothes of Goku.

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3. A tattoo of Goku in Super Saiyan Mode.

4. A sketch-like tattoo of Goku.

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5. A cute tattoo of Goku having fun.

6. A tattoo of various characters from the Dragonball franchise.

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7. A thigh tattoo of Frieza.

8. A large tattoo of the Dragon from Dragonball.

9. A small tattoo of a dragonball.

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10. Another tattoo of Goku in Super Saiyan Mode.

Pokémon

One of the most popular anime franchises around the world, Pokémon started off in the mid-nineties. It began in the form of video games for the legendary Nintendo Game Boy but has spread since to other forms of media.

Numerous characters from the franchise are often seen as anime tattoos. Pikachu is probably the most popular of them all, especially among younger generations and female tattoo enthusiasts.

Here are a few examples of anime tattoo designs from the Pokemon franchise:

1. A small inspirational tattoo relating the types of pokemon you will pick on your journey.

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2. A cute tattoo of Pikachu surrounded by lightning.

3. A cute tattoo of Jigglypuff imitating a scoop of ice cream.

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4. A tattoo of Hunter, a ghost type pokemon.

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5. A beautiful tattoo of the legendary fire beast, Entei.

6. A cool tattoo of Dragonite in battle.

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7. A cute tattoo of Dragonair while showing its elegance.

8. An abstract tattoo of Cubone.

9.  A tattoo of a Pokeball, the symbol of the Pokemon franchise.

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10. A wonderful tattoo of Arceus, the god of Pokemon.

Naruto

Among the highly popular animes currently is Naruto, which started its life as a manga series in the second half of the nineties and it still dominates the manga industry today. Naruto is actually a very young ninja, who lives in a village and dreams to become its leader one day.

If you’re not into doing anime tattoos with predefined characters, perhaps you should try adapting something to the anime style.

You will always see pin-up girls stylized in anime fashion. The same can be said about angels and fairies. These tattoo designs are especially popular among girls.

There are also cases when people tend to combine tribal or Celtic designs with anime stylization. Goth culture fans sometimes combine their favorite themes and subjects with anime drawing style to come up with unique results.

Here are some of the anime tattoos we found that are inspired by Naruto:

1. A tattoo of Naruto Uzumaki, the franchise’s main protagonist.

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2.  Another tattoo of Naruto Uzumaki.

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3.  A sketch-like tattoo of Katashi Hatake, the Sixth Hokage of Konoha.

4. A tattoo of Naruto’s famous headband.

5.  A tattoo of the eyes of the franchise’s major characters.

6. A large tattoo of clouds in Naruto.

7. Another tattoo of one of Naruto’s major characters.

8. A stylized tattoo of Naruto Uzumaki.

9. A colorful tattoo of Naruto characters.

10. Another tattoo of Kakashi Hatake.Naruto Tattoo

Would We Recommend Anime Tattoos?

Whichever way you choose to go, the world of anime is vast and we’re sure you’ll find something you like. If you are a fan of any anime or animated series, we would definitely recommend you to get your favorite character or symbol tattooed as a sign of your deep regard for the series you love.


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About the author

Jason Hamilton

Jason has been an avid fan of tattoos for over 13 years now. He is currently 35 years old, and he got his first tattoo at the age of 22. Since then, he has added over 20 tattoos to his collection. He is also into writing, which is why he decided to celebrate both of his passion and hobby through tats ‘n’ rings. Jason dreams of having his very own tattoo parlor soon. Jason would be very happy to answer any questions about tattoos that you may have! Leave a comment below and he’ll answer it for you right away!

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