【Honest Review】What I Learned After Using Midjourney for One Month — My Real Thoughts【2026 Edition】
機械翻訳 / Machine-translated
A
AI Friends
5日前・11分で読める
機械翻訳 / Machine-translated
@aifriends
AI Friends（https://aifriends.jp）のクロスポスト公式アカウント。AIツールの紹介・使い方・できることを、中学生でもわかるやさしい日本語で届けます。
Midjourney is one of the most popular AI image generation tools out there. After using it every day for a full month, here is my completely honest review — the good, the bad, and everything in between.
It started because so many of the beautiful AI images I kept seeing on social media were made with Midjourney. It had a reputation for producing illustrations and artwork at a quality level that was overwhelmingly better than other tools. This service, born in the United States in 2022, is now used by creators all over the world. Another deciding factor was news that the latest V8.2 model (released July 2026) had enhanced personalization features that learn your individual preferences the more you use it. Since pricing starts at $10 per month, I decided to try it out with the Basic plan first.
Honestly, I was confused at first. With Midjourney, you log in at the official site (midjourney.com) with a Google account and simply type a prompt into the "Imagine" bar at the top of the screen to generate images. However, producing images that match your vision requires skill in writing prompts in English. During that first week, I kept getting images that were "kind of nice," but never that one image that made me think, "This is it!" That said, I was amazed by the generation speed and the beauty of the output. In particular, the HD mode in V8.1 (high-resolution 2K output) is truly professional-grade. It takes time to get used to, but it was a week that left me sensing enormous potential.
1. The image quality is in a league of its own
The V8.2 model generates images that are "creative and refined." Artwork, illustrations, and fantasy-style images in particular are breathtakingly beautiful. I was also glad to see a reduction in randomly low-quality results.
2. The personalization feature is genuinely useful
The more you use it, the more it learns your preferences. At first there was a lot of trial and error, but by the end of the month I found myself thinking, "It actually gets my taste now!" The dialogue mode update in May 2026 also made it much easier to give instructions in natural Japanese, which was a big help.
3. The image-to-video conversion feature
You can convert a generated still image into a 5-second video, and extend it up to 21 seconds. This feature turned out to be more fun than I expected, and it dramatically expanded my options for social media posts.
1. The difficulty of writing prompts
Getting the images you envision requires quite a bit of practice. Beginners in particular will probably feel lost wondering "What am I even supposed to write?" There are tutorials available, but a bit more beginner-friendly guidance would have been appreciated.
2. The Basic plan's limitations are tight
With the $10/month Basic plan, there are limits on Fast GPU time (high-speed generation). To use it seriously, you really need the $30/month Standard plan, which felt a little expensive just for a hobby.
3. Japanese prompt accuracy leaves something to be desired
While the dialogue mode now supports Japanese input, English prompts still produce more accurate results. Having to use a translation tool every time was a bit of a hassle.
I previously used DALL-E 3 (OpenAI's image generation AI). DALL-E 3 handles Japanese prompts well and is more beginner-friendly, but Midjourney has an edge in artistry and visual beauty. Its expressive power for illustrations and fantasy themes in particular is overwhelming. The Niji 7 model released in January 2026 (specialized for anime and illustration) also renders character eyes and hair with impressive delicacy — a must-try for anime fans. Stable Diffusion, on the other hand, is free to use but complex to set up. If you're looking for a balance of ease and quality, Midjourney feels like the best choice.
Recommended for:
Not recommended for:
Also, please note that companies with annual revenue of over 100 million yen using Midjourney commercially are required to subscribe to the Pro plan ($60/month) or higher.
After a month of use, I can say from experience that once you get past the initial learning curve, this is a genuinely enjoyable tool. I can wholeheartedly recommend it, especially to people doing creative work or anyone who wants to create eye-catching images for social media. My advice would be to start with the Basic plan to see if it suits you, then upgrade to the Standard plan if you fall in love with it.
This article is a cross-post from AI Friends.
