Hey, TherapyTL, while I understand nearest neighbor is usually the better option for accurate scaling... waifu2x is easily better, I think we can both agree there is VERY little to work with in terms of resolution but note the collar area.
I believe this was an x4 magnify with 1 level of denoise, while the result is FAR for perfect or even ideal, again, we were working with an image that is fairly low rez, I think the end result isn't bad.
https://i.imgur.com/uVBwxke.png
granted this is far from ideal bur the raws you are using are giving you little to work with, that's why there is some wonkeyness in some areas, note the dot background, there just isn't enough detail for it to latch onto anything there. the areas it had something to latch onto it did a fairly good job.
I believe this was an x4 magnify with 1 level of denoise, while the result is FAR for perfect or even ideal, again, we were working with an image that is fairly low rez, I think the end result isn't bad.
https://i.imgur.com/uVBwxke.png
granted this is far from ideal bur the raws you are using are giving you little to work with, that's why there is some wonkeyness in some areas, note the dot background, there just isn't enough detail for it to latch onto anything there. the areas it had something to latch onto it did a fairly good job.