Image-sharing website Pixiv has been one of the most popular online communites for artists for years, particularly in Japan. Most art on pixiv is anime-style, but there are plenty of artists with their own aesthetics. But with these new guidelines, the art posted on pixiv could become increasingly homogenous.

A recent update to Pixiv's guidelines specifies that "real-life photographs or photo-realistic images" are now prohibited, and may be deleted, placing them on a similar tier to outright uncensored nudity. 

Pixiv didn't give a reason for the restriction, but people speculate it's either to appease financial institutions (like the situation with DLsite), or to help combat the recent spate of AI-generated images that go for a "realistic" uncanny valley vibe. Whatever it is, people are understandably not happy about the change, especially when what constitutes realistic art is open to individual interpretation, and some are talking about leaving Pixiv entirely. Artist Hound said on Twitter:

"Regarding the revision of pixiv's rules, I'd like to use a strong word to describe it as "the worst." I fully understand that there are various problems with AI generation, but all extremely realistic illustrations are banned. There is a style called super-realism, and all artists who draw by hand are also defeated. The standard is "highly realistic," so military illustrations like box art could also fall into this category. Personally, I'm saddened that there will no longer be a platform for hand-drawn artists to show their work, whether it's 18+ or not, and more than anything, I feel that it's a huge warning sign."

Whether people actually will leave Pixiv after this remains to be seen, but with other platforms introducing stupid restrictions of their own, there are increasingly fewer places for artists to share their work online. What do you guys think? Should Pixiv reinstate "realistic" art? Let us know below!