Why Jinx's Tattoos In Netflix's Arcane Could Mean More Than You Think

Netflix's "Arcane" has been a major hit for the streaming platform. The newly released animated series, which serves as a prequel to the largely popular video game franchise "League Of Legends," has garnered strong reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and according to Deadline, has shot up to become the number one digital original series with U.S. audiences. 

The series centers around sisters Vi and Jinx, who fight on opposing sides in a seemingly never-ending war between oppressive regimes, crime lords, and inventors. 

The animation behind "Arcane" has also received plenty of praise, with IGN critic Rafael Motamayor lauding the style as "the most stunning piece of animation since 'Into the Spider-Verse' and one hell of an argument for animation as the best medium to adapt video games in."

With the animation brimming with so much style, it's no surprise that the animation team left plenty of hidden details that add extra layers to the series' already large universe — including the meaning behind Jinx's cloud tattoos. 

If you pay close attention to Jinx's character design, you will have likely noticed her blue cloud tattoos. On a Reddit thread, u/Zeycko shared their theory on the true origin of the tattoos: "So... was Jinx tattooing herself with blue clouds her way to call her sister for help?" In an earlier episode, Vi gave Jinx a flare gun and told her that all she had to do was set it off, and Vi would come find her. Years later, Jinx did eventually set off the flare gun, and it released clouds of blue smoke which matched her tattoos she'd acquired as an adult.  

Many users added onto the theory, including u/Allison-Cloud who commented, "I just had a theory about this last night when I was re watching act 1. It also could be PTSD related. Because there was a [column] of blue smoke rolling off the building after she blew it up."

Other users, including u/LordOfTheBees69 thought that the reasoning behind the tattoos was not as complex: "It's part of her character design, but I'm sure making the flare blue wasn't by accident."

Regardless of whether or not the choice was intentional, the addition of the blue tattoos still adds even more flair to an already gorgeous-looking series.