I know close to nothing about Bleach, but it always seemed to me, from what little I caught, that instead of writing a plot they just added more characters. There's so many characters.
Hasn't Tite Kubo even stated that his preferred way to get himself out of a corner, is to introduce new characters?
Yes:
Q: What comes first? the characters, or the story's plot?
Tite Kubo: (emphatically) Characters first!
Q: Bleach has so many characters with so many different powers, weapons, personalities and relationships! How do you come up with them?
Tite Kubo: I really don't intend that characters have certain personalities when I come up with them. Sometimes I can't think of any new characters. Then other times, I come up with 10 or more new characters.