How to Upscale Anime Videos Without Artifacts or Distortion
Mar 21, 2026
Table of Contents
Anime upscaling is different from upscaling live-action video. The visual language is different, the failure modes are different, and the AI models that produce the best results are different too.
If you have tried upscaling anime with a general-purpose tool and ended up with thick, glowing outlines or smeared color fills, you are not alone. Those artifacts happen because most upscalers are trained on photographic content and do not understand how illustrated footage works.
The right approach is to use a model that respects line art and flat color, choose a sensible target resolution, and know what to watch for before committing to a full export.
Anime footage has characteristics that set it apart from real-world video:
Hard outlines and line art. Characters, backgrounds, and objects are defined by drawn lines. General upscalers tend to blur or thicken these.
Flat color regions. Large areas of uniform color are common. Photographic upscalers can add unwanted texture or grain to these areas.
Stylized shading. Anime uses cel shading, limited gradients, and intentional simplification. AI models trained on photos try to add "realistic" detail that clashes with the art style.
High contrast edges. The boundary between a character and the background is usually a sharp, clean line. Artifacts along these edges are immediately visible.
A good anime upscaler preserves these properties instead of fighting them. That is why specialized models like Anime4K exist.
For the vast majority of anime content, Anime4K is the better choice. Use Real-ESRGAN only when the footage has significant photographic elements or heavy film grain that benefits from its texture reconstruction.
Both are open-source tools you run on your own computer. VideoUpscaler uses neither: it runs FlashVSR, a diffusion-based video super-resolution model, on cloud GPUs, and the same model handles anime and live-action footage, so there is no model to choose.
Go to VideoUpscaler and upload your anime video file (MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM or M4V, up to 500 MB). Processing runs in the cloud, so no software installation is needed. MKV files work as-is; convert AVI or TS files to MP4 with HandBrake first.
There is no model to select. FlashVSR processes anime with the same model it uses for live action, and it works across neighboring frames, which helps keep line art stable instead of flickering from frame to frame.
Modern anime at 1080p is a strong candidate for 4K
A good rule: if the source is clean and sharp at its native resolution, you can safely upscale by 2x. If the source is noisy or heavily compressed, stay conservative and aim for 1080p first.
Line thickening. Outlines should stay at their original visual weight. If lines look heavier or bloated, the model is adding too much.
Color bleeding. Colors should stay within their boundaries. Bleeding along edges means the upscaler is misinterpreting the line art.
Banding amplification. If the source has subtle banding in gradients, upscaling can make it more visible. This is a source quality issue, not a model issue.
Haloing. Bright outlines around dark edges (or vice versa) indicate oversharpening.
Texture in flat areas. Flat color fills should remain flat. If you see grain, noise, or artificial texture, the model is adding detail that does not belong.
If you see these problems, try reducing the target resolution (for example, 2K or 1080p instead of 4K) and compare.
Some modern anime blends 2D illustration with 3D CG elements (vehicles, backgrounds, action scenes). These frames can confuse AI models because part of the frame looks illustrated and part looks photographic.
For this type of footage:
if you pick models yourself, test both Anime4K and Real-ESRGAN
Anime4K usually wins overall, but Real-ESRGAN may handle the 3D elements better
accept that no single model is perfect for every frame in mixed-media productions
Good anime upscaling makes a visible difference. Lines look cleaner, colors are more vivid at higher resolution, and the overall image feels sharper and more polished on modern displays.
But it is not magic. The upscaled version will always be limited by what exists in the source. A heavily compressed 480p stream will look better at 1080p, but it will not look like a Blu-ray master.
The best results come from the best sources. If you have access to a higher-quality version of the footage, always start there.
For most anime, yes. Anime4K is specifically designed for illustrated content and handles line art, flat colors, and cel shading better. Real-ESRGAN can be better for anime with heavy film grain or photographic backgrounds, but those cases are less common.
You can upscale individual episodes or clips. For a full series, the practical approach is to test one episode first, confirm the quality, and then process the rest with the same settings. On VideoUpscaler, free accounts process one file at a time, and paid accounts (after any plan or credit purchase) can batch up to 10 videos at once.
Upscaling can reduce the appearance of some compression artifacts by smoothing edges and increasing resolution, but it cannot fully remove heavy macroblocking or banding. If your source has significant compression damage, the upscaled version will still show traces of it. Starting with the highest-quality source available is always the best strategy.
If your source is 1080p and clean, 4K is a great target for TV viewing. If your source is 720p or lower, try 1080p first. It will look sharp on a 4K TV and avoids the risk of artifacts from over-aggressive upscaling. You can always test both and compare using the quick start feature.
Why anime needs a different upscaling approach
Anime4K vs Real-ESRGAN for anime
Anime4K
Real-ESRGAN
Which should you choose?
Step-by-step: upscale anime video
Step 1: Start with the best source you can find
Step 2: Open VideoUpscaler and load your file
Step 3: Skip the model picker
Step 4: Choose your target resolution
Step 5: Preview a short section
Step 6: Check for common anime artifacts
Step 7: Process and export
Tips for different anime styles
Classic hand-drawn anime (pre-2000s)
Modern digital anime (2000s onward)
Mixed media and 3D-hybrid anime
Fan-subbed or streaming-compressed anime
What to expect from anime upscaling
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Anime4K better than Real-ESRGAN for all anime?
Can I upscale a full anime series, or just individual clips?
Will upscaling fix compression artifacts in my anime videos?
What resolution should I target for anime on a 4K TV?
