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How far would you go to be the epitome of cool at your high school? Growing up, you had to have all the right accessories, slap bracelets, JanSport backpacks, and Gap sweatshirts to be “in”. You would think the days of bright colors and zany patterns used just to stand apart from the crowd were gone the way of the 90s. Now, brand names and “style” rule the hallways. But Japan proves again that gaudy and garish aren’t negative qualities.

Since many high schools in Japan have very strict uniform policies, students have to find other ways to express themselves. An area where there seems to be more stylistic freedom is backpacks. Students are free to choose whatever backpack they want, and some are choosing some very unique ones.

yankee backpack

Ranging from 5,999 yen to 7,999 yen (US$60-$80), these tiger backpacks are selling out all over Nagoya. If you wanted to stand out, this is definitely one way to go about it!

girl on the street

girl two packs

Your choices aren’t just limited to tigers. Lions, pandas, gorillas (and frogs?!?) have also been spotted on the backs of high school students. Some people have even been using the backpacks to decorate their homes! The trend may be spreading further soon, as people have been commenting that when they saw photos on Facebook they just had to get one themselves.

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lion

panda back

panda

tiger close up

This shark backpack seems to have missed the mark though!

▼Fish are friends, not food!

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If you could choose to have any animal as your backpack, what animal would you choose? As always, let us know in the comments.

Source: Naver Matome
Images: Instagram (tigers_cafe), fashion snap, Twitter (lovesnagoyadome), Twitter (lovesnagoyadome), Twitter (wego_osaka2), Twitter (yomoyomobanzai), Twitter (rinna_rinrin), Twitter (spinns_t), twitpic, Wikimedia Commons, RocketNews24