Waifu2x

waifu2x is an image scaling and noise reduction program for anime-style art and other types of photos.^[1]

waifu2x

Original author(s)	nagadomi
Initial release	October 11, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-10-11)
Stable release	v0.13.2 / November 18, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-11-18)
Repository	github.com/nagadomi/waifu2x
Written in	Lua
Operating system	Linux with CUDA support
License	MIT License
Website	www.waifu2x.net

waifu2x was inspired by Super-Resolution Convolutional Neural Network (SRCNN).^[2][3] It uses Nvidia CUDA for computing,^[4] although alternative implementations that allow for OpenCL^[5] and Vulkan^[6] have been created.

Etymology

Waifu (from the Japanese pronunciation of "wife") is anime slang for a female character to whom one is attracted. 2x means two-times magnification.

Example

　

• Left: 512×512px, PNG lossless, original source Wikipe-tan face.svg
• Middle: 256×256px, JPG quality 30%, then nearest-neighbor interpolation
• Right: 512×512px, waifu2x upscaling & noise reduction

See also

• Comparison gallery of image scaling algorithms