bleachness

Occasional lurker, first time poster here. This came up in casual conversation with a friend and fellow Bleach fan and I'm really hoping someone can offer some other take to make this a bit easier to swallow. :/

Kubo's done a pretty good job of creating a large cast of characters that people care about and are invested in, even if there are widely differing opinions as to how that cast should be handled and how it's being handled, etc etc. One thing I've noticed about the background stories of some of the main male characters is the use of the loss of a loved one as a plot device to give them 'angst,' some depth or twist in their character motivation or background story.

That loved one is... often a woman.

Two of these character types are least given names and some sort of action in the plot. First example that pops to mind is Ichigo's mother Masaki. Nothing is known about her specifically save for her actions in saving Ichigo's life that night by the river. The rest of the reader's knowledge comes from the admittedly biased memories of her family. Her function is limited to her impact on her family and Ichigo. Second example with any sort of direct information is Byakuya's wife and Rukia's sister, Hisana. No information is given about her directly, just what actions she takes that are necessary to the plot as a whole, like abandoning Rukia in Rukongai and marrying Byakuya.

There are other women characters that barely exist as more than names aside from their plot function. Miyako has absolutely no details given at all, but acts again as motivation for a male character, her death motivating Kaien to attack a Hollow in a blind rage that resulted in his own death. The death of Tousen's friend, not even given a name, lead to him joining the shinigami to avenge her and later joining Aizen.

Even when they aren't dying to provide motivation or characterization for male characters, two female characters still serve the same purpose with their mere absence. The first Yachiru made such an impact on Kenpachi that he named his adoptive daughter after her. Former Twelfth Division Captain Hikifune, in a slight deviation, offered motivation for Hiyori in disliking Urahara to such a strong degree. (And admittedly in further deviation, might have been name dropped as foreshadowing for a future appearance.)

I can only think of one male character who's sole purpose is to add motivation or characterization to a female character in contrast to the female characters mentioned above: Orihime's brother, Sora. And of the five women characters already mentioned, only Masaki got any real resolution or emphasis on her death and the lasting impact it had on more than one person. Hisana got mention, but again, that was to further Byakuya's motivation. Orihime's brother, even despite serving a storytelling purpose for Orihime, was still given a chance to be developed by his own actions rather than the idealized memories of other characters.

Kaien might also count as a male example of a dead loved one being used as motivation/characterization. Unlike the women, however, Kaien is more in the same category as Sora in that he's given a chance to be defined also by his actions in the story, not just his impact and influence on other characters.

I'm well aware that most of the characters in Bleach have extensive backgrounds and histories. They are all defined by crucial, specific events in their backgrounds or their actions in current day only. And there are a large number of background characters that exist in name only and pretty much just run around while the plot is going on. That is still a surprising number of female characters that exist solely as a plot device to give a major male character something to angst over or be further defined by. They can all even be described by function and that pretty much sums up their whole purpose in Bleach: Ichigo's mother and Isshin's wife; Byakuya's wife and Rukia's sister; Kaien's wife; Tousen's friend; and Kenpachi's... person of importance (friend? companion?).

I would really like for someone to point out all the places I'm wrong or little tidbits of information about these characters I might have missed that flesh them out as their own people instead of just plot devices.

...And sorry for tl;dr. :x

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EDIT: Some people that are much more attentive than I am pointed out some very important details I missed:

-Chad's grandfather and Uryuu's grandfather as possible examples. More screentime and more known than a few of the above mentioned female characters, but plotwise, both pretty much there to give CHad and Uryuu something to feel sad about.

-Yachiru could be a woman or a man, original Japanese doesn't say.

-Hisana at least had something going on of her own in wanting Rukia safe, even if why or how isn't explained (yet?).