Midori MD Notebook - Lined

[jace]

Given so much praise and hype for Midori, I thought I might try out one of their notebooks...

While the paper seems like it is of a good quality, my fountain pens (western EF/japanese M/F) do not lay much ink on this paper, making it not such a great writing experience (very bad and awkward flow). (Maybe better suited for broader nibs, but I will never know.) Also, this notebook does not lay flat, which makes this terrible in my book, especially when it advertises "writer's comfort". And it says no smearing (smudging?)... it smears.

Will most likely not repurchase given its high price. It's cute and packaged well, with interesting stickers and a mid-line in the pages, but these things are irrelevant for me.

There are many better quality paper notebooks (for FP) out there at a much lower price point.

What am I missing here? What's with all the near-perfect reviews? Maybe it's better for non-English writing? Maybe it's better with non-FP writing materials?

TL;DR I don't get it. I don't like it.

Edit: disclaimer: am still new to the FP game, so maybe 10 years down the line, with more experience with FP's and inks and papers, I will change my mind.

Edit (2020-09-23): Ok, I am actually warming up to the paper. I don't hate this paper anymore after trying so many other better pens and worse papers. In fact it is sometimes quite pleasing, even with Japanese Fine nibs. Wow. Now, my contention is with non-Japanese pens, and how much more superior Pilot and Sailor pens are over basically all other non-Japanese pens I have tried. If I had to start over all again, I'd just buy Pilot and Sailor.