For the body modification community in Tokyo, this mirrors the human desire for transformation. Body modification—whether through intricate tattoos, piercing, branding, or surgical alteration—is rarely just about aesthetics. It is often a rite of passage, a shedding of an old self, or a reclamation of one's own biology.

Tokio Butterfly once said in a whispered interview, "A caterpillar, when it enters the chrysalis, completely dissolves into goo. Its old form is destroyed before the butterfly emerges. That is the pain I sell. And the wings? Those are free."

: Large-scale pieces, such as back or side tattoos, designed to emphasize the body's movement.