Let’s quickly skip over the fact that I’m watching fansubs again—right now, that’s the only way to watch Bakuman 2. We can talk about it later.

I want to talk about Aoki Ko, the most problematic character in Bakuman 2.

Ko has undergone a huge personality shift since the original Bakuman. Originally portrayed as an ice queen, she’s now blushing, flustered and boy crazy. For some inexplicable reason, she’s writing a new manga that consists of copious amounts of panty shots.

I don’t get it because from everything we’re told about Aoki Ko’s life tells me that she’s intelligent and independent. She’s a graduate student and a teacher (two things I can totally relate to), and on top of that a (sometimes) syndicated manga author. When her new editor suggested she turn her romantic storyline into a raunchy comic, I thought it was a joke. The moment Ko quietly assigned herself to doing it was the moment I stopped believing in her character. Why would a woman as accomplished as Ko debase herself like that?

I probably shouldn’t be surprised. There’s always been weird gender politics going on in that show, but they’ve never been this distracting. Before, I could ignore Mashiro and Azuki’s creepy marriage pact and write it off as an old-fashioned concept of romance. But now, more than ever, it’s unavoidable to see the women in this show as nothing but sex objects, solely there to motivate—and be motivated by—the men.

A few weeks ago, before everything started going all soap opera, I used to describe Bakuman 2 as “an anime by two authors based on a manga about two authors creating a manga in hopes that it will become an anime.” I would also tell people that watching Mashiro and Shujin’s enviable productivity always made me feel lazy. But now, the manga has taken a backseat to the characters’ drama, during which I cannot relate to the motives of a single woman on this show.

I’m not ready to say this show is sexist, however. It’s more confusing than that. It portrays women in a way that makes me uncomfortable, but I can’t put my finger on it yet. It’s totally lacking in a woman’s perspective.

I’m getting that feeling that I’m only watching this show now because of momentum. I’m suddenly recalling that I have no idea what the word “bakuman” even means. On screen, we see Mashiro and Shujin cranking out manga chapters at remarkable speed. Maybe when artists are working this quickly, the thing that gets lost in the shuffle is remembering to have at least one believable female character.

Are you watching Bakuman 2?