Country of origin Japan Original network TV Tokyo | No. of episodes 17 | |
Original release March 31 (2009-03-31) – July 21, 2009 (2009-07-21) | ||
The episodes of the twelfth season of the Bleach anime series, released on DVD as the Arrancar: Decisive Battle of Karakura arc (破面・空座決戦篇, Arankaru Karakura Kessen Hen), aired in Japan from March 31, 2009 to July 21, 2009. They are directed by Noriyuki Abe and produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu, and Studio Pierrot. The 17-episode season is based on Tite Kubo's Bleach manga series. The plot continues to show the fight between the Soul Reapers against Sōsuke Aizen's army of arrancars, with the former defending Karakura Town, and the latter planning to use Karakura Town to invade and destroy Soul Society. The season moves on to auto-conclusive stories beginning with episode 227.
The season first aired from March 31, 2009 until July 21, 2009 on TV Tokyo in Japan. The English adaptation of the Bleach anime is licensed by Viz Media, and this season began airing on July 16, 2011. A total of four DVD volumes, each containing four episodes, have been released by Aniplex from January 27, 2010 to April 21, 2010.
The episodes use four pieces of theme music: two opening themes and two closing themes. The first two episodes use "Velonica" by Aqua Timez as the opening theme. The second opening theme, "Shōjo S" (少女S, Shōjo Esu, "Girl S") by Scandal is used for the remainder of the season. The first ending theme, "Sky Chord (Otona ni Naru Kimi e)" (Sky chord 〜大人になる君へ〜, Sukai Kōdo ~Otona ni Naru Kimi e~, lit. "Sky Chord (To the Adult You)") by Shion Tsuji is used for the first two episodes. The second ending theme is "Kimi o Mamotte, Kimi o Aishite" (君を守って 君を愛して, "I Will Protect You, I Love You") by Sambomaster, used for the remainder of the season.