Spirited Away is one of my all-time favorite animated movies. The story is about the adventures of a young girl named Chihiro as she wanders through the world of the gods and spirits.
She faces ever-changing circumstances around her, and one can assume that the film is a manifestation of her fears and anxieties of growing up. Chihiro is separated from her parents, which is a child’s biggest fear, but she needs to conquer that fear to find her parents and journey into adulthood. It is a story of a journey and metamorphosis.
What I love about the film is the dynamic color palette, the fierce characters, and the gripping storyline. It is a beautiful film to look at, and I draw so much inspiration from the characters and unique designs. Let’s take a look at some Spirited Away tattoos:
1. Illustrative Haku
Haku is a dragon who can turn into a young boy, and he helps Chihiro on her journey by protecting her from danger and giving her advice. He is an iconic character from the film and is so beautiful!
This tattoo has a beautiful, soft color palette. I like the flow of the dragon and the placement of the flowers. The line work is very clean, and I love the light grey shading throughout the dragon’s body. If you like this tattoo, check out our list of 20 Of The Most Eye-Catching Chinese Dragon Tattoos.
2. The Radish Spirit Tattoo
The Radish Spirit is one of Hayao Miyazaki’s interesting characters, based on a Daikon radish, and offers comfort to Chihiro throughout the film. This tattoo captures its essence perfectly!
I love the thick bold line weight used in this tattoo. The red is extremely well-saturated, and I like the choice of opaque grey in the radish’s body. I especially like the glow radiating out of the flower and the orange haze around the tattoo.
3. Boh Eating Ramen Tattoo
Boh is a baby in Spirited Away that turns into a mouse and went on the adventure with Chihiro. I love this tattoo depicting him eating a big bowl of ramen!
This tattoo has a beautiful color palette, and I especially love the shade of green! The line work is clean, and the white highlights are spot on! I adore the pattern in the bowl and the detail in the noodles.
If you like this tattoo, check out our list of 15 Tasty Ramen Tattoos to Make You Hungry
4. No-Face and Chihiro Tattoo
One of the most iconic characters in Spirited Away is No-Face. He appears throughout the film and acts as Chihiro’s kind and humble servant towards the end of the film. He represents loneliness and the longing to be noticed.
I enjoy this tattoo’s texture – the dots are much larger than most dot-work tattoos. I like the composition of the tattoo, and the thick bold line weight works extremely well with this style of tattooing. The detail in Chihiro’s backpack and face is so clean and delicately done!
5. Spirited Away and Totoro Mash-Up
This is not strictly just a Spirited Away tattoo – it is an amalgamation of a bunch of Studio Ghibli films! But it does include the Soot Sprites from Spirited Away.
What drew me to this tattoo is the beautiful color combinations! It is bright, playful, and full of detail.
I adore the soft fur-like texture in the Soot Sprites and the way the colors have been blended. The attention to detail in the moon’s face and Totoro’s little feet is amazing!
6. Dot Work No-Face
Another cool example of a No-face tattoo, but this one is devouring a cake!
I like the whip shading in the large field of black in No-Face’s body and the subtle use of grey tones in his mask and on the cake. The little sparkles add to the magical feel of this character, and the textures in the icing are a super cool touch!
7. Illustrative Haku
I like this artist’s take on Haku from Spirited Away as it has a child-like feel to it! I like the thick, bold line weight throughout this tattoo and the grey shading.
I also like that the artist chose to do the scales in small groups along the dragon instead of covering the entire body. This really helps the tattoo breathe!
8. No-Face Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums have been a common element of tattoos for ages, but this one has a unique twist to it! I love the little Soot Sprites and the No-Face mask in the center of the flower.
This artist is extremely good at fine-line tattooing. This is evident in how clean and concise each line on the inside of the chrysanthemum petals is and how there is no trauma or blowouts in this entire tattoo! I love the contrast between the heavy shading in the leaves and the open skin left on the curves of the petals. A beautiful tattoo!
9. Kamaji Tattoo
Kamaji is an elderly man with six arms who operates the boiler room of the bathhouse in Spirited Away. At first, he is very rude to Chihiro, but eventually agrees to help her.
I love how playful this tattoo is – each one of his arms is doing something different! I like the attention to detail in the tiny sushi, his mouth, and the kettle. The dot work shading is very well done and the line work is clean. How cute is the addition of the little Soot Sprites around him?
10. Creepy No-Face
This tattoo shows the true creepy nature of No-Face, which is not often depicted. I like the dot work shading in his open mouth and the heavy use of black in his body. This design has some movement to it, with the ink splatters around his body.
11. No-Face Mask
I love this mash-up of My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. I love how Totoro is hiding behind the No-face mask but he’s too big for it! The soot Sprites playing at the bottom of this design end it off perfectly, and I like the extra detail in his nails and whiskers.
12. Spirit Cave Micro Realism Tattoo
This is the Spirit Cave from Spirited Away that Chihiro and her family crawled out of at the end of the film.
This artist has a great understanding of color and texture. I adore the large number of different greens in this micro realism tattoo and the little pink flowers create great contrast. This is such a cute and special tattoo!
13. Photograph on the Train
This is a photograph of Chihiro and No-Face on the train, going to visit the witch. I really like these tattoos as they remind me of how I used to stick photos to my wall in University.
The color is well-saturated and I love the more expressive line work. The artist added just the right amount of highlights and I like how the tattoo fits this spot on the body.
14. Boh In Flight
Another gorgeous tattoo of Boh and the crow! I love the movement in this tattoo and how darn cute it is. I like the very subtle use of shading and the fine line weight. It really does look like they are flying!
15. The Bathhouse Spirited Away Tattoo
This is a beautiful illustration of the Bathhouse from the film where Chihiro has to go and work. If you are not a Spirited Away fan, you’d probably just think this is a tattoo of a Japanese temple.
I like the minimal use of shading in this design and the more illustrative rendition of the bathhouse. The little details of the trees and the smoke coming out of the chimney is a lovely extra touch!
16. No-Face with Horns
I like this tattoo of No-Face because the mask is breaking apart and the horns really show the evil spirit side of him.
I like the decision to make his mask look like it’s cracked open and the flowy cloak-like ending to his body. The black is well-saturated, and I like the addition of dot work shading.
17. Color Chihiro
This is a lovely tattoo of Chihiro and the birds and frog from the Bathhouse.
I love how the artist chose to illustrate the foam and how the little duck’s hands are in the bucket. The color packing in the whole tattoo is very well-saturated and dynamic, and the line work is clean. This is a super fun and interesting tattoo!
18. No-face with Tongue
This is a super creepy tattoo of No-Face without his mask on.
I really like how the artist made the tongue look wet and the detail of the finger going into the eye hole of the mask. The shading is well-executed, and I like the overall flow of this tattoo.
19. Radish Spirit in a Pot Plant
I absolutely love this tattoo of the Radish Spirit dancing in a pot plant. It is dynamic, clean, and unique!
The dot work shading is so precise and fine. I love the Monstera leaves and the design of the pot plant. The addition of the bright sun in the background really makes this tattoo breathe and I like the white highlight on the hat. If you like this tattoo, we have a list of 22 Beautiful Plant Tattoos to Admire.
20. Traditional No-Face Flowers
As you know by now, I am obsessed with traditional American tattoos and this one is no exception. I absolutely love the tiny No-Face’s in the center of the flowers.
I like the placement of the tattoos and the beautiful bright red in the petals of the flowers. The whip shading in the leaves is beautifully executed, and I especially like this tattoo for its simplicity.
21. Haku Arm Tattoo
This is an extremely unique take on Haku as it has a more illustrative feel than Haku tattoos usually have.
I like that the artist chose to do this tattoo in full color instead of black line work. It gives it a more feminine and gentle feel. The placement is perfect, and I love the little stars and sparkles around it!
22. Soot Sprites
I like this tattoo of a little bottle filled with Soot Sprites as if the client gets to carry them around with them everywhere they go! Soot Sprites carry coal in the Bathhouse with their super strength and are friendly toward Chihiro.
I like the contrast between the bold line work and the dot work shading – this is a mash-up of two of my favorite styles of tattooing! The design is dynamic, and it looks like the Soot Sprites are being juggled around in the bottle.
The use of white highlights is spot-on and makes the tattoo pop!
23. No-Face and Tea
I love this depiction of No-Face drinking a cup of tea and surrounded by Soot Sprites holding colorful stars!
I like the softness of this tattoo, as it is unique to all of the others on this list. The gradient in the dot work shading is almost flawless, and I like the attention to detail in the cup of tea that No-face is holding.
24. Illustrative No-Face
This is such a gorgeous tattoo of No-Face with the Bathhouse in his stomach. I like the more gentle facial expression used for No-Face and the extra tiny details in this design.
The bold line work is incredibly clean, and I like the dot work shading in No-Face’s body. The details on the roof and the pebbles in the front are a nice extra touch. I love the addition of some stars as this adds to the magical feel of the tattoo.
25. Greek Statue
I recently came across this tattoo and had to come back to add it to this list. I love the mix of the Greek statue with the iconic characters!
Summary
Spirited Away is an interesting and exciting film, filled with many different characters and imagery to add to your next tattoo.
It’s also a great film for artists to draw inspiration from and you can be guaranteed to walk out with a unique and dynamic tattoo! I hope our list of Spirited Away tattoos has sparked some ideas for your next tattoo!
If you’re interested in more anime, check out our Sasuke Curse Mark Tattoos as well.
