Gemini 3.1 Flash with image generation capabilities. High-efficiency image generation model with support for text rendering, reference images, search grounding, and thinking mode. The efficient counterpart to Gemini 3 Pro Image.
Settled by community votes across 4 shared challenges, with an AI judge weighing in on each.
Nano Banana 2
28.4
arena score
#1 of 62 in Text-to-Image
Best Text-to-Image right now
Top 2 in Image Editing
Skill signature
· Text-to-Image
HiDream E1
0.7
arena score
#33 of 32 in Image Editing
Vote tally
Where the votes landed
Nano Banana 2
100.0%
win rate
Ties
0.0%
HiDream E1
0.0%
win rate
100.0%
0.0% ties
0.0%
Shared challenges
4
Challenge by challenge
The strongest take from each model on every shared challenge, with the AI judge's read.
Bald man challenge
Image EditingEdit instruction
“Give the person a full, thick head of natural hair with realistic texture, density, and a natural hairline. Preserve facial features and lighting.”
Nano Banana 2
HiDream E1
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana 2
- + Excellent source preservation, keeping the background and clothing identical to the original.
- + The hair texture and color perfectly match the existing beard and eyebrows.
- + The hairline and density appear highly realistic and convincing.
- − The hair is somewhat short compared to the prompt for 'full, thick' but remains very natural.
HiDream E1
- + Successfully added a very thick and full head of hair as requested.
- − Failed to preserve the source image, significantly altering the background and facial skin texture.
- − The hair texture looks soft, synthetic, and 'painted' rather than a high-resolution photograph.
- − The transition between the new hair and the existing beard is jarring and lacks integration.
Verdict: Nano Banana 2 is the clear winner as it performs a perfect local edit, preserving the integrity of the original photo while adding realistic hair that matches the person's age and existing facial hair. In contrast, HiDream E1 failed as an editing model by regenerating nearly the entire image with a different background and synthetic-looking textures.
Over-the-top cartoon caricature
EditingEdit instruction
“Create a caricature of me and my job. Make it exaggerated and humorous, incorporating my profession as a tv show anchor and my love for dogs and hockey.”
Source
Nano Banana 2
HiDream E1
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana 2
- + Excellent adherence to the 'caricature' style with hand-drawn line art and color pencil aesthetic.
- + Perfect incorporation of all thematic elements including a news ticker, microphones, several dogs, and a hockey stick.
- + Strong likeness preservation, keeping the subject's hair color, eye shape, and clothing style from the source image.
- − The character's hand holding the hockey stick has a slightly awkward grip/finger count.
HiDream E1
- + Successfully creates an exaggerated facial expression suitable for a caricature.
- + Includes both a dog and a hockey-themed background.
- − Poor likeness preservation, changing the subject's hair color to blonde and facial structure significantly.
- − Significant anatomical errors, particularly with the distorted hands and extra fingers holding the dog.
- − The overall style feels more like a 3D render than a traditional caricature.
Verdict: Nano Banana 2 is the clear winner as it perfectly captures the spirit of a professional caricature while maintaining the subject's identity from the source image. It creatively integrates all requested hobbies into a cohesive scene, whereas HiDream E1 fails on likeness preservation and suffers from severe anatomical issues in the hands.
Studio Ghibli Anime Style
EditingEdit instruction
“Transform this photo into a Studio Ghibli–inspired illustration. Use soft pastel colors, hand-painted textures, gentle lighting, dreamy backgrounds, and a warm, nostalgic mood”
Source
Nano Banana 2
HiDream E1
100% wins
0% ties
0% wins
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana 2
- + Excellent preservation of the original poses and expressions.
- + Accurately captures the Studio Ghibli watercolor aesthetic with hand-painted textures.
- + High level of detail in the background including Ghibli-esque architecture and flowers.
- − The foreground woman's hair is slightly more generic than the source.
HiDream E1
- + Successfully applies a soft, warm pastel color palette.
- + Preserves the basic composition of the original meme.
- − Loses the specific expressions of the subjects, making the characters look indifferent.
- − The style is more akin to generic webcomic art than Studio Ghibli's hand-painted look.
- − Significant loss of detail in the background and clothing compared to the source.
Verdict: Nano Banana 2 is the clear winner as it perfectly captures the specific 'hand-painted' texture and character design language characteristic of Studio Ghibli while maintaining the iconic expressions of the 'Distracted Boyfriend' meme. HiDream E1 produces a much simpler, flatter digital illustration that fails to capture the requested Ghibli aesthetic or the emotional nuance of the original photo.
Golden Hour Stroll
Image EditingEdit instruction
“Add dynamic motion to this photo: make hair blow in the wind, add leaves flying, energetic and lively feel.”
Nano Banana 2
HiDream E1
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana 2
- + Successfully added highly realistic blowing hair that matches the wind direction.
- + Included numerous leaves with natural textures and varied lighting.
- + Captured an energetic feeling by slightly altering the subject's facial expression to a joyous laugh.
- − Added significant dirt and debris near the bottom left that looks a bit messy compared to the original image.
HiDream E1
- + Clearly depicted wind-blown hair while maintaining the subject's original facial structure.
- + Preserved the cleanliness and lighting of the background better than Model A.
- − The added leaves look like flat, artificial stickers rather than integrated 3D objects.
- − The overall image has a slightly smoothed, over-processed digital look compared to the source.
Verdict: Nano Banana 2 is the superior model here because it integrates the requested motion effects with much higher realism; the hair and leaves look naturally lit and part of the environment. While HiDream E1 followed the instructions, its leaves appear as low-quality 2D overlays that break the immersion of the photo.
Next steps
Explore each model
HiDream AI's image-to-image editing model for instruction-based image modifications and transformations