The reality show craze of the past five years has sparked a movement within a movement – reality shows centered on tattooing. Our two favorite tattoo reality shows, and TV’s most popular, are TLC’s Miami Ink and the spin-off LA Ink.

While many shows on TV portray talent-less characters searching for love or money or attention, these two shows center on truly talented artists. And despite all the drama, some damn good tattoos and surprisingly poignant stories are captured on film.

Wouldn’t it be perfect if we could simply watch talented artists master their craft all day long? For us? Yes. For the mass public? No way. These shows would not be popular if it weren’t for the tears, fights, and hookups. You know, the drama – and each show has its main character, tattooer, and director of drama. Meet Miami Ink’s Ami James and LA Ink’s Kat Von D who battle it out for TV’s tattooing title.

Round 1: The Art

Both Kat Von D and Ami James are known for their intricately beautiful tattoo designs as well as their bold personalities and looks. But as in any competition, someone has to have the upper (and better) tattooing hand. Kat rocks it out every show with her stunning black and white portrait designs that look scarily similar to the photographs she models them after. On the other hand, Ami’s designs utilize bold colors to creatively complement his Asian inspired pieces.

The amazing likeness of Kat’s tattoos to the people, animals, and photos she is tattooing from would impress any artist, and therefore round one goes to Kat Von D.

Round Two: The Look

While they are both tattooed literally from head to toe, Kat and Ami each have famous tattoos that make them easily recognizable to the public. The stars on Kat’s face combined with the large rose around her neck show her strong commitment to both art and tattooing. Ami’s beautiful snake design on his stomach is the focal point of his body art and is often visible due to his distaste for shirts.

The drastic and slightly harsh look of Kat’s face tattoo doesn’t compare to Ami’s powerful snake. Round two goes to Ami James.

Round Three: The Clients

Now that the tattoo taboo is shrinking, celebrities are opening up to the public in a different way – through body art. At the Miami tattoo shop, Ami tattoos an array of models, dancers, and beautiful women in general. He has also tattooed comedian Craig Ferguson and actor Johnny Messner. After leaving Miami Ink and moving to Los Angeles, Kat’s tattoo shop has become a celebrity hot spot. She has tattooed major celebs such as Eve, Jared Leto, comedian Margaret Cho, and Bam Margera.

Kat definitely takes round three.

Round 4: The Side Projects

Ami’s signature tattoo designs translated beautifully onto the Motorola Raz’r, providing the phone with a funky new look and an appeal to younger generations. Ami’s crazy clothing line DeVille has also been very popular nationwide thanks to his love for art and focus on detail. Kat designed a makeup line for beauty store Sephora which she based on her personal tattoos and individual style. Kat’s personal style is almost as popular as her art, which has made her makeup line wildly successful.

Round four has to go to Ami for his many entrepreneurial endeavors.

Round 5: The Big Picture

Kat Von D’s understanding personality, funky style, and huge celebrity following make her a star in her own right. Her move from Miami Ink to LA Ink launched her into the public eye and made her a favorite prime-time TV character. Ami’s killer looks and smooth ways with the ladies do not come close to overshadowing the fun antics and amazing talent of Kat and her LA crew.

And the winner is: Kat Von D with LA Ink.

Check out why we think Kat Von D is one of the hottest females in Hollywood here: Top Five Hottest Female Tattoos in Hollywood.