Hey everyone 
,
I wanted to share a little project I recently tried: upscaling old anime to 4K.
If you grew up watching series like Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, or My Neighbor Totoro, you know how great they are… but let’s be real, the video quality doesn’t always hold up today 
. Some episodes are grainy, blurry, or just super inconsistent.
So I decided to see if modern AI tools could breathe new life into these classics. Here’s what happened:
The Tool I Used
I ended up trying HitPaw VikPea Video Enhancer. Honestly, I was skeptical at first because I’ve seen tools overpromise. But this one actually did the job pretty well.
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It boosted the resolution to 4K without making the lines look weird or over-sharpened. -
The colors popped more, especially in scenes that looked washed out before. -
The process was faster than I expected — I batch-processed a few episodes while making coffee.
Before vs After
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The 720p version I had looked… okay-ish. A bit soft, lots of compression artifacts.
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The 4K version was noticeably cleaner. Character outlines were sharper, backgrounds had more detail, and it felt closer to how I remembered the anime in my head as a kid.
It doesn’t magically turn it into modern-day animation, but it makes it way more enjoyable to watch on a 4K TV.
Why This Matters
For me, it wasn’t just about tech. It was about reliving old memories with a fresh look. Watching my favorite shows again — but this time, with visuals that match my current screen setup — felt amazing.
What Do You Think?
Has anyone else here tried upscaling old anime or movies with AI tools?
Do you think it’s worth it, or do you prefer the original untouched look (grain and all)?
Would love to hear your takes 
If anyone’s curious, I can drop more details on the settings I used.