Bleach follows the story of a substitute Shinigami, who receives incredible powers to be used for the purpose of fighting off villains and "protecting his friends". Unsurprisingly, the protagonist is a male teenager. However, this does not require the story to shunt female characters off to the side, giving them little to no focus (with very rare exceptions.)

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Bleach has a habit of portraying its women as lost maidens, objects for the male gaze, or as channels for someone else's power — it is exhausting to see women constantly judged based on how worthy they are in a man's eyes. Here are ten ways (among countless others) in which the series reduces the value of its female characters.

10 Orihime Is The Shrill, Annoying Girl

Ichigo and Orihime in Bleach.

Aside from her buxom figure, Orihime is best known for her perennial screams of "Ichigo-kunnnn!", which occur constantly and at an annoying pitch. Even though it does wake Ichigo up, it has irritated audiences to the point of becoming a meme. At the same time, Orihime's Santen Kesshun is invulnerable to attacks from the likes of Yhwach.

Aizen himself admits that her Soten Kisshun's ability to reject reality is God-level. Instead of focusing on her haxx powers, Bleach chooses to maintain her as Ichigo's damsel in distress.

9 Rukia Has A Need For Her Brother’s Approval

byakuya with rukia

After her sister, Hisana, dies, Rukia is brought under the care of the Kuchiki family. The patriarch, Byakuya, is chilly towards her most of the time, probably because she reminds him too much of his dead wife. This enforced distance results in Rukia's attempts to please her new brother, going to the extent of accepting her death sentence because Byakuya seemed fine with it.

Although her bankai, Hakka no Togame, is powerful enough to rival Ryuujin Jakka (given enough reiatsu, of course) the series ensures that Rukia will not be able to wield it with confidence and pride unless Byakuya utters words of encouragement.

8 Nemu And Mayuri’s Relationship

mayuri kurotsuch in soul society arc

At best, Nemu is Mayuri's slave; at worst, she's a disposable experimental artifact. Her captain creates her from scratch, "adopting" her as his daughter. In fact, during the fight with Pernida Parnkgjas Mayuri reveals that she's actually the seventh version of one of his soil-generating projects, implying that he has been producing and discarding women for a long time.

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While any other person would have reacted in a violent rage, Nemu chooses to save her "father", attacking the Sternritter and initiating self-destruct mode. Her act completely destroys Pernida, a stunning feat considering that it is the left arm of the Soul King.

7 Nelliel Is Both Infantilized And Objectified

Nelliel is initially depicted as a lost child (with two bizarre companions) whom Ichigo takes under his wing. She speaks in classic baby-talk, for instance, calling her savior "Itsy-go". Seeing Nnoitra demolish Ichigo, she explodes into a cloud of pink gas, emerging as an adult — an extremely attractive woman with an impossible cup size.

Shōnen stories always have a habit of having oversexed women in its cast, a smart business decision, given the audience. However, teasing her unbelievable strength (Espada #3) for a few minutes and then permanently reverting her into childlike vulnerability is a terrible move.

6 Hinamori Has Stockholm Syndrome

For the longest time, Himamori followed around her perfect Captain Aizen with puppy-dog eyes. After he "dies" she is inconsolable, blaming her buddy Hitsugaya for the murder (based on a fake note Aizen wrote to her.) Hinamori attacks Hitsugaya in hatred, so he is forced to knock her out and place her in a jail cell for her own protection.

Even after her idol stabs her and leaves her to die, she begs Hitsugaya not to kill him, saying that he probably had a good reason for his actions, or that someone else was coercing him into doing it.

5 Nanao’s Strength Is A Facade

Nanao Ise is first portrayed as a strong-willed woman, who holds her ground against the most terrifying of obstacles; she could even withstand Yamamoto's extreme reiatsu pressure (for a short time.) Her serious demeanor is a perfect counter to Kyoraku's rambling carelessness, making her the bad cop in the relationship, although she doesn't mind it as much.

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During Kyoraku's fight with Lille, he tells Nanao about her zanpakuto, Shinken Hakkyoken, and it's associated abilities. She cowers in fear, until Kyoraku holds her arms and puppeteers her into using the weapon correctly.

4 Chizuru Is The Creepy Lesbian

Chizuru is Ichigo and Orihime's classmate. She is mostly found screaming out the latter's name and running over to hug her (with a creepy stare in her eyes as she fondles Orihime's breasts.) For this, she often receives beatings from Tatsuki, who seeks to protect her friend's "modesty".

What's worse is when Chizuru becomes part of the Karakura-Raizer group, in which her abilities are entirely dependent on her sexuality. In Hyper Erotic Mode, she becomes incredible strong and fast whenever she observes a beautiful woman.

3 Karin And Yuzu Have No Important Roles

Being the children of Masaki and Isshin Kurosaki, one would expect that either Karin or Yuzu would display even slight hints of power. In this case, the parental Quincy and Shinigami genes were absorbed entirely by Ichigo (apparently, it's a world where genes are sentient and can make their own decisions.)

Karin can, on occasion, see Hollows, but Yuzu has been eternally relegated to household duties — her favorite pastimes include doing chores like washing, cooking and cleaning.

2 Yoruichi As A Cat-woman Hybrid

Yoruichi and Urahara have what seems like a close relationship, given that she sacrificed her exalted position in Soul Society to help him escape. However, in order to "convince" her to fight Askin Nakk le Vaar, Urahara injects a chemical straight into her backside, which forces her to don a humiliating cat-human form, known as Shunryu Kokubyo Senkei.

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In fact, it is said that only Urahara can control her when she is in this state. If there ever was a clear sign of a man taking away a woman's agency, this one is it.

1 Unohana Is The Proverbial Woman Behind The Successful Man

Unohana vs Kenpachi in Bleach.

The revelation that Unohana was the First Kenpachi was a spectacular move; it implied that women could be a dominant force in shōnen. As soon as Kyoraku brings this fact to light, she and Zaraki are told to duke it out in Muken, until only one of them is left standing.

This is not only unfair, but also horribly misogynistic — it treats women as stepping stones, only existing to help some man or the other achieve his greatest dreams. Her death is the most miserable part: after being stabbed through the chest, Unohana tells Kenpachi that he "was the only man who ever brought me pleasure."

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