anime tattoos are having a real moment, and los angeles is one of the best places in the country to get one — if you find someone who actually knows the source material. so the usual disclaimer first: this isn't a ranking. the "best" anime tattoo artist is the one whose hand matches the series and the look already living in your head.
what this is: a handful of artists on goodwork doing genuinely great anime and manga work, each with a different specialty — ghibli, death note, pokémon, junji ito, fine-line portraits. every one has real pieces and pricing on their profile, so you can go from "oh, them" to booked without a single DM.
Rae Kaku — studio ghibli & soft fine line
Rae Kaku does the kind of ghibli work that makes you tear up a little. one piece sets a stippled Totoro among floating soot sprites, with red ribbon-tied cherry-blossom knots and a tiny chibi white Totoro trailing below — fine black linework with just a thread of red running through it. delicate, faithful, and full of feeling.
Vince Espinoza — black-and-grey manga
Vince Espinoza brings a gritty, sketchy hand to manga. his Ryuk from death note is all gangly limbs and ragged wings, rendered in moody black & grey that keeps the manga-panel energy of the original instead of flattening it into a sticker. if you want the dark stuff done right, he's the call.
anoetic.designs — clean color pokémon
anoetic.designs nails the bold, saturated cartoon look. a sunglasses-wearing Squirtle tucked behind the ear, arms crossed, with crisp black outlines and flat clean color — exactly how a pokémon should read on skin. playful and confident.
ashynuckles — junji ito horror manga, eagle rock
for the unsettling end of the spectrum, ashynuckles in eagle rock does junji ito-style horror manga. paneled black-linework frames — wide eyes, a creeping tongue, a flash of katakana — that capture ito's exact creeping dread. crisp, faithful, and genuinely creepy.
katlyyons — color pokémon & clean cartoon, mid-city
over in mid-city, katlyyons does sweet, clean color cartoon work. a leaping Bulbasaur paired with a little blue water-type, soft shading and tidy outlines — the kind of friendly pokémon piece that holds up because the linework is so clean.
lunay flores — fine-line anime portraits
lunay flores brings anime down to a delicate fine-line scale — character portraits framed inside hearts, drawn in thin single-needle linework. proof that anime doesn't have to be big and bold to land; it can be small and tender too.
more worth knowing
a couple more on goodwork worth a look: jlestrange does vivid full-color magical-girl work (her sailor jupiter is gorgeous), and zealous in the arts district mixes anime with black-and-grey realism on bigger pieces like jujutsu kaisen and naruto sleeves.
finding yours
the move with anime is to match the artist to the series and the medium: cel-shaded color, black-and-grey manga, or fine-line portrait are three very different skill sets. find the one whose portfolio already has the energy you want, then pricing is the easy part.
browse every anime tattoo artist in los angeles →
frequently asked questions
who are the best anime tattoo artists in los angeles?
LA has a deep anime-tattoo scene. on goodwork, Rae Kaku does gorgeous studio ghibli work, Vince Espinoza does black-and-grey manga like death note, anoetic.designs and katlyyons do clean color pokémon, ashynuckles does junji ito horror-manga, lunay flores does fine-line anime portraits, and jlestrange does vivid sailor moon. each has a different specialty — match the artist to the series and the look you want.
can you get a good anime tattoo in LA?
yes — and the key is finding an artist who actually knows the source material. a great anime tattoo isn't just a screenshot copied onto skin; the artists worth booking understand the line weight, cel-shading and color of the original art, and translate it so it reads as a tattoo and ages well.
how do i choose an anime tattoo artist?
pick by style first. color cel-shaded work (pokémon, sailor moon) is a different skill set than black-and-grey manga (death note, jujutsu kaisen) or fine-line anime portraits. find an artist whose portfolio is full of the look you want, ideally with a piece from a series you love. on goodwork you can see real anime portfolios and pricing before you reach out.
how much does an anime tattoo cost in los angeles?
it depends on size, color and detail. a small black-and-grey manga piece might run about $150–$350, while a large color anime sleeve panel is a multi-session project that can run well into four figures. color and heavy detail take more time, so they cost more. each artist shows their pricing on their goodwork profile.