Gaara is a fictional character within the manga and anime television series, Naruto. Naruto, the manga dating back as far as 1997 has been a very popular manga and anime series. Since the debut of the anime, the popularity and fan base has never stopped rising.
This fantasy, adventurous story fixated on the boy Naruto and his friends and allies. Gaara is one of the fan favorites of the show. Initially, Gaara was introduced as an antagonist. Since Gaara is what is considered a shinobi, being from the shinobi world, he is the son of the land’s leader, the Fourth Kazekage.
Before he was born, his father intended on having a child to use as a weapon to restore their village. Being only looked at his entire life as a demon and outcast of the village, Gaara grew a deep hatred for those that made themselves his enemies by relentlessly looking at him as a monster.
Just as Naruto was in his village, considered a dangerous person, it was not until Gaara met and became friends with Naruto that he started to change his perspective and able to control his anger and hatred more. Naruto, being possessed by the beast ‘Nine tails’ knows exactly how Gaara was being treated, for he is possessed by the beast known as the ‘One-Tailed Shukaku’.
Gaara became the Fifth Kazekage which literally means the Fifth Wind Shadow. He was chosen as this so that he can help protect the village and all those who live there. Doing this, helps vanish the fears the villagers had about him.
Gaara was raised by his uncle, Yashamaru. Gaara thought that Yashamaru was raising him because Gaara’s family and all the other villagers were afraid of him and his powers. When Gaara was only six years old, Gaara’s father ordered Yashamaru to assassinate Gaara. Gaara looked up to Yashamaru as a father figure and believed Yashamaru was the only person alive that was capable of loving and nurturing for Gaara.
One night, Gaara was approached by an assassin who he battled it out with, once the assassin was defeated and dying on the floor, it was then that the one who came to kill him was indeed his very own uncle, Yashamaru. As Yashamaru was dying, Yashamaru confessed to Gaara that he never did care about Gaara in the first place. He resented Gaara because he blamed him in the death of his sister, Gaara’s mother, and told Gaara he was a demon that fought only for himself.
Gaara being taken aback by this and being in total dismay, realized that nobody he knew has ever or ever will, love him. Gaara controlling the power of the sand then decided to brand himself on his forehead with the symbol ‘ai’ which signifies love. The symbol of ‘a demon loving only himself’ is written across his forehead. This plays a strong role in the character Gaara, it shows the perfect example of a misunderstood, troubled youth who if under the right circumstances and given the proper attention and love, would not have turned out so ruthless.
Gaara’s Brand
After realizing that nobody cared for and loved him, Gaara used his powers to control the sand to create a brand on his forehead. This brand was a symbol of love, and a reminder that he is the ‘demon loving only himself’. This so called ‘brand’ on Gaara’s forehead has sparked the unique and creative idea of getting this symbol as a tattoo.
Although this design is placed on Gaara’s forehead, it does not mean you have to get this marking on your forehead as well. Other parts of the body will do just fine, carefully examine examples of this tattoo and then you can decide where you would like the placement!
The Symbol
As mentioned above, the symbol that Gaara decided to brand above his eye on his forehead translates to ‘love’ and for this instance he is the ‘demon loving only himself’. Fans of the show and of especially Gaara have replicated this piece as their very own. Although Gaara has this design on his forehead, it is not necessary to do this to yourself, unless that is what you absolutely want to do.
This tattoo design can look great just about anywhere you place it and it will always hold the true meaning, whether it is stamped on your forehead or not. Using black ink is a classic amongst designs such as these, but whatever color you choose, it yet again holds the same meaning. Popular places to get this symbol are on the back of the neck, the forearm, upper arm, and stretched out as a larger image on the pectoral, or chest.
The Symbol and an Eye
Since Gaara’s symbol is branded above his eye, on his forehead above the eyebrow, another popular tattoo design amongst fans is to get just his eye and eyebrow, with the symbol above.
This give the tattoo a real anime feels and fans of the show will immediately recognize this graphic and be sure to compliment you. To give this a quick add on, the eye of Gaara can be either a black, or red color, giving it the effect that he is starting to morph into his One-Tailed beast form. A tattoo such as this looks great on the upper arm and even on the chest.
Gaara Himself
The image of Gaara himself are other notable tattoos. Gaara in an action pose, ready to fight, perhaps one of his nemeses, is always a neat concept. Gaara posing with his One-Tailed beast form, maybe with the face of the One-Tail blown up as a larger graphic, with Gaara standing in front, off to the side of the beast. However, you decide to illustrate this image, showing your tattoo artist beforehand is always the best way to go about it.
A graphic of Gaara is a classic way of paying respect to your favorite character in the Naruto series. This concept is a little more straight forward when dealing with the guessing game of ‘what the tattoo means. Fans of this anime and manga will recognize this tatt.