Think watching My Neighbor Totoro under the covers isn’t for you anymore? Show your love for Studio Ghibli with a tattoo!
Think watching My Neighbor Totoro or Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea under the covers isn’t your age anymore? Plan B: show your love for Studio Ghibli with a tattoo!
What is Studio Ghibli?
Ghibli is nothing less than one of the driving forces of Japanese soft power for nearly four decades. An animation studio, it was co-founded by director Hayao Miyazaki in 1985 and has since provided young and older viewers with some animated gems. Among the most iconic, let’s mention:
- Castle in the Sky
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Kiki’s Delivery Service
- Porco Rosso
- Pom Poko
- Princess Mononoke
- Spirited Away
- The Cat Returns
- Howl’s Moving Castle
- Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
- The Wind Rises
- The Boy and the Heron
Given its popularity beyond the borders of Japan, Studio Ghibli has exported its works and characters to various media such as video games, recipe books… and even tattoos. Indeed, like Disney tattoos, designs inspired by the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata are being inked onto the skins of the most devoted fans.
Studio Ghibli characters as tattoos
By definition, a Ghibli tattoo is distinctly cartoonish or graphic, aesthetically similar to manga tattoos. They can be found as minimalistic designs on an ankle, as line drawings on a wrist, in black and gray at the nape of the neck, or in color on the forearm. In most cases, it’s one or more characters from the studio’s feature films that get inked onto the skin. Apart from the iconic Totoro – whose chubby appearance became the franchise’s logo – popular choices include:
- the young Chihiro and the mysterious No-Face
- San and the wolf Moro from Princess Mononoke
- legendary creatures like the soot sprites, the kodama… or, in another category, the Catbus!
Getting a Ghibli tattoo in Paris
Have a design in mind? Bro Vanthorn, Peter Galt, and the rest of the La Bête Humaine team welcome you every day (except Sundays) from 10 am to 7 pm!