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It’s kind of ironic that even though director Hayao Miyazaki regularly expresses his distaste towards obsessive fandom, fans obsess over his films like no one else’s. And it’s not just anime loyalists, either, who find watching his works to be a life-changing experience, since they’ve also won the hearts of millions who just love animation or strong filmmaking in general.

There even seems to be a sizeable overlap between people who admire Miyazaki’s movies and body art. So while the anime legend himself might not personally approve, today we’re taking a look at a collection of impressive Studio Ghibli-inspired tattoos.

When you’re dealing with Ghibli imagery, it doesn’t get any more iconic that Totoro, so let’s start off with a tattoo of the big guy himself, accompanied by Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind’s Teto, Princess Mononoke’s kodama, the susuwatari soot spirits from My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle’s Calcifer, the only Ghibli character seen here who can talk.

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Totoro makes another appearance here, framed by black cat Jiji, fish-girl Ponyo and dragon boy Haku, who we’re glad to see alive and well.

▼ Jiji shows up again, looking just a little surprised on a moonlit delivery ride along with little witch Kiki.

Jiji’s not the only cool cat in the Ghibli pantheon, though. There’s also the Cat Bus, seen here holding what we’re guessing is Totoro’s bus pass.

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Going from a cat with extra legs to a pig with mechanical wings, here’s Porco, the Crimson Pig himself, looking just like he did in Porco Rosso.

The artist for this tattoo also did an admirable job matching Sosuke to his design from Ponyo.

With so many memorable, landmark pieces of animation in the Studio Ghibli library, many fans end up using a large patch of their bodies as the canvas for representing their favorite characters and scenes.

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▼ It took all the way from the shoulder to the wrist, but we count no fewer than seven films referenced here.

Still, if you’re dead-set on going with a solitary figure to represent your love of Ghibli, it’s hard to argue against this choice.

That’s true devotion right there, even if the owner might want to cover it up should he ever get the chance to meet his idol in person.

Source: Curazy
Top image: Instagram/_planetkurth_