Bleach Episode 12 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

A Gentle Right Arm

Uryū and Ichigo's duel over Hollow Bait triggers a town-wide Hollow outbreak. Ichigo hunts Hollows and searches for Karin, while Uryū, Rukia, Tatsuki and Orihime, and Sado and Gitano each face Hollows and the large black distortion in the sky. Sado fights Bulbous G, awakens his right arm as Brazo Derecha de Gigante, and protects Karin before collapsing, after which Karin runs to get Isshin to treat him.

• Duel over Hollow Bait

  Uryū explains that the Hollow Bait will draw Hollows, and sets the duel rule: whoever kills the most Hollows in 24 hours wins. Ichigo objects, and Uryū triggers the outbreak by crushing the bait.

• Hollow outbreak across town

  Hollows pour out of a black distortion in the sky. Ichigo fights three Hollows on a street and searches for Karin, Uryū keeps firing Heilig Pfeil, and Rukia receives a flood of Hollow orders on her Denreishinki.

• Tatsuki and Orihime at the school

  At Karakura High School, Tatsuki and Orihime see the windows of a nearby building shattered and spot a distortion in the sky. Karin stops playing soccer and is sent home by her friends.

• Sado vs Bulbous G

  Bulbous G falls on Sado and Gitano. Sado flees to draw the Hollow away, Karin joins him, and Sado recalls his grandfather Oscar's words. He then awakens Brazo Derecha de Gigante and destroys Bulbous G with an uppercut.

• Aftermath with Karin

  Sado collapses. Karin scolds him for getting hurt and runs to get Isshin Kurosaki to treat him. Numb Chandelier watches from a nearby rooftop as Orihime stares in fright.

Recent Timeline

• Grand Fisher's flight from Ichigo (Episode 9)

  At the cemetery, Ichigo stabbed Grand Fisher through the side with his Zanpakutō after the Lure revealed Masaki's final thoughts. The wound drove Grand Fisher to flee into the sky while Ichigo collapsed from his own injuries. Grand Fisher swore never to forgive Ichigo, leaving the battle unfinished.

• Jibakurei turned into a Demi-Hollow (Episode 10)

  Don Kanonji jammed his Super Spirits Stick into the Jibakurei's chest hole during a televised purification, provoking it to become a Demi-Hollow that reformed on the abandoned hospital roof. He later realized his act was the direct cause of the monster's creation.

  Ichigo, drawing his Zanpakutō after Don Kanonji was struck down, broke free of the Sticker Phlegm and slashed the Demi-Hollow's mask vertically, ending the fight. Don Kanonji's Kanonball had earlier freed Ichigo's restraints.

  After its defeat, the Demi-Hollow dissipated to reveal the Jibakurei beneath, which also dissipated. Ichigo explained that a Hollow is a monster without conscience born from a broken Soul chain.

• Kanonji broadcast scolding (Episode 11)

  Kagine confronted Ichigo, Rukia and their friends after the Don Kanonji show incident was revealed as having been broadcast nationwide. The group escaped before Kagine could act.

  After the alley Hollow vanished, Ichigo stopped the frightened Plus and sent him to Soul Society with Konsō. The Plus had kept his eyes closed and could not identify who had saved him.

  The first-semester final exam rankings were posted, with Uryū Ishida placing first, Orihime Inoue third, Yasutora Sado 11th and Ichigo 23rd, shocking Keigo and Mizuiro.

• Uryū's Hollow kill and duel (Episode 11)

  Uryū Ishida fired a Heilig Pfeil from his bow Kojaku and pierced a new Hollow's head as it entered the Human World, destroying it before Ichigo could act.

  Uryū then revealed that Ichigo is a Substitute Shinigami who draws his powers from Rukia. Ichigo accepted the duel challenge, swapped bodies with Kon by taking his Gikongan, and entered Shinigami form.

• Bulbous G destroyed by Sado (Episode 12)

  Sado's punch blew off Bulbous G's arm, and his later uppercut released a torrent of energy that split the Hollow vertically. Sent into the air, it disintegrated, ending the threat to Karin and her friends.

Character Graph

Fishbone D

Hollow

Hollow that pursues the dead girl and then turns on Ichigo's family, seeking a soul with high Reiryoku. He is destroyed when Ichigo cuts through his mask.

• Target

  Was drawn by Ichigo's suppressed power, which had been leaking through the dead girl.

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Other, Hostility)

  The Human whose power he hunts; he is destroyed by Ichigo.

• Rukia Kuchiki (Other, Hostility)

  Shinigami who wounds him and is wounded in return.

• Karin Kurosaki (Other, Hostility)

  Girl he seizes and threatens to devour.

Ichigo Kurosaki

Human · Shinigami

Fifteen-year-old tenth grader from Karakura Town whose family runs a clinic. He has been able to see ghosts since childhood and ends the episode with Shinigami powers he took from Rukia.

• Shinigami powers

  Gained Shinigami powers by taking in Rukia's Zanpakutō and power, and now wields a large Zanpakutō of his own.

• Rukia Kuchiki (Pact, Mixed)

  The Shinigami who forced him into becoming one; they clash constantly yet cooperate against Fishbone D.

• Isshin Kurosaki (Family, Mixed)

  Father who fights and bickers with him yet shares the household.

• Yuzu Kurosaki (Family, Affinity)

  Younger sister who worries over him.

• Karin Kurosaki (Family, Mixed)

  Younger sister who is dismissive of him and whom he rescues from Fishbone D.

• Fishbone D (Other, Hostility)

  Hollow that hunts him for his Reiryoku and has attacked his sisters.

Yuzu Kurosaki

Human

Younger Kurosaki sister who can see ghosts but cannot interact with them. She tries to keep peace at dinner and is jealous of Ichigo's spirit attention.

• Spirit sight

  Can see spirits but cannot speak to or touch them.

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Family, Affinity)

  Older brother she worries over.

• Karin Kurosaki (Family, Mixed)

  Older twin sister who is unconcerned by the family conflict.

Orihime Inoue

Karakura High School · Human

Ichigo's classmate who is close to Tatsuki and whose only family, her brother, died after a car accident three years ago.

Ichigo's classmate who can see spirits; now protected by Ichigo and Rukia after her brother Acidwire attacks her.

• Family loss

  Her only brother died at the Kurosaki Clinic three years ago after being badly injured in a car accident.

• Brother bond

  Recognized her Hollow brother Acidwire and sacrificed herself to intercept his bite out of guilt over her past neglect of him.

• Tatsuki Arisawa (Friend, Affinity)

  Close friend who brings her food and walks with her through the school halls.

  Friend who stands by her at school and backs up her story after the attack.

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Colleague, Neutral)

  Classmate whom she has not spoken to much; she was the girl crying at the Kurosaki Clinic years ago.

Rukia Kuchiki (Princess of the Rukongai)

Shinigami · Kuchiki Clan

Shinigami sent from Soul Society to exorcise Hollows and send Pluses on. She first appears by purifying a Hollow in town and later forces her powers into Ichigo.

A Shinigami adopted into the noble Kuchiki Clan, formerly known as the "Princess of the Rukongai"; currently in the Human World hunting Hollows and has been delayed in returning to Soul Society.

• Role

  Explains Shinigami duties to Ichigo: sending Pluses to Soul Society with Konsō and purifying Hollows.

• Current state

  Stuck in a Gigai after Ichigo took most of her Shinigami powers.

• Reputation

  Was famous at the Shin'ō Academy under the nickname "Princess of the Rukongai" after her adoption into the Kuchiki Clan.

• Current status

  Keeps receiving orders to purify Hollows and has not returned to Soul Society; has a Denreishinki that alerts her to Hollows, and is hiding her Shinigami identity from Ichigo's family.

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Pact, Colleague, Friend, Mixed)

  Partner forced by circumstance; she gave him her power to save his family and bickers with him throughout.

  Met in the Human World; she is wary of his family's safety and shows concern for him, which Saidō teasingly suggests is romantic interest.

• Fishbone D (Other, Hostility)

  Hollow she fights and wounds, and who threatens Ichigo's family.

Isshin Kurosaki (Isshin)

Human

Father of the Kurosaki household who runs the clinic with his children. He is mourning his late wife and is at odds with his children.

Ichigo's father, who grieves Masaki's death while encouraging his son to move on.

• Household

  Enforces dinner at 7:00 pm and quarrels physically with Ichigo.

• Masaki

  Speaks of Masaki's wishes, including her view of his smoking, and insists that no one is responsible for her death.

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Family, Affinity)

  Son he spars and fights with, though he cannot see ghosts.

  His father; he tells Ichigo not to blame himself and encourages him to live well.

• Yuzu Kurosaki (Family, Affinity)

  Daughter who cares for him and the household.

• Karin Kurosaki (Family, Mixed)

  Daughter who is cold toward him.

Uryū Ishida (Uryū)

Quincy · Classmate

A Quincy who hates Shinigami and specifically hates Ichigo Kurosaki; ranked first on the final exam and sits in Ichigo's class, where he is in the handicrafts club with Orihime Inoue.

• Quincy identity

  Introduces himself as a Quincy who hates Shinigami; his Heilig Bogen is Kojaku, formed from the cross on his wrist, and he fires Heilig Pfeil that pierces Hollows entering the Human World.

• Taunting Ichigo

  Taunts Ichigo as a mere Substitute Shinigami who received his powers from Rukia Kuchiki and cannot lift a finger without her permission.

• Awareness of Ichigo

  Has known Ichigo has high Reiatsu since Ichigo entered school and became a Shinigami; has watched Ichigo and Orihime from afar and challenges Ichigo to a duel.

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Other, Hostility)

  Uryū openly hates Ichigo, criticizes his ignorance of basic Shinigami matters, and challenges him to a duel to prove who is stronger and that Shinigami are unnecessary.

• Rukia Kuchiki (Other, Neutral)

  Uryū taunts that Ichigo is merely a Substitute Shinigami who received his powers from Rukia and cannot lift a finger without her permission.

• Orihime Inoue (Colleague, Neutral)

  Shares a handicrafts club with Orihime, who knows his name and points him out to Ichigo.

Gitano Shigeo

Gitano Shigeo is a man who lives on a precarious wage and is irritated with Yasutora Sado's stalling on the way to a lunch discount at the market.

• Yasutora Sado (Colleague, Mixed)

  Gitano kicks Sado for stalling, berates him for not realizing that Gitano lives on his job wages, and walks with him to the market.

Karin Kurosaki

Human

Younger Kurosaki sister who is skeptical of ghosts and does not believe in them. She is calm and blunt at home.

Karin has seen monsters like the Hollows before and has been wondering what Ichigo's connection to them is; she identifies Sado as Ichigo's friend and sees the Hollow Bulbous G clearly.

• Disbelief

  Claims ghosts do not exist to her as long as she does not believe in them.

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Family, Mixed)

  Older brother she dismisses, and who rescues her from Fishbone D.

  Karin is Ichigo's sister; she comments that his heroic attitude is like Sado's and she has been wondering about his connection to monsters.

• Yuzu Kurosaki (Family, Mixed)

  Younger twin sister who worries about her lack of reaction.

• Yasutora Sado (Colleague, Mixed)

  Karin meets Sado, recognizes him as Ichigo's friend, and fights beside him against Bulbous G, telling him he is just like Ichigo in his heroic reasoning.

Oscar Joaquín de la Rosa

Oscar Joaquín de la Rosa is Yasutora Sado's grandfather, who appears in Sado's childhood memory in Mexico.

• Yasutora Sado (Family, Affinity)

  Oscar is Sado's grandfather who praises him and urges him to be kind and to protect rather than hurt others.

Tatsuki Arisawa

Karakura High School

Orihime's close friend at Karakura High School who is blunt and teasing with Ichigo.

Tatsuki Arisawa is a karate student at Karakura High School who sees spirits since a visit to Orihime's house, which she only vaguely remembers.

• Role

  Brings Orihime food and comments on her habits.

• Childhood with Ichigo

  First met Ichigo when he was four at her dojo; was the first to make him cry; looked out for him after Masaki died, finding him walking by the riverbank with his book bag.

• Orihime Inoue (Friend, Affinity)

  Close friend who looks after her and brings her food.

  Tatsuki and Orihime share the experience of seeing spirits after the visit to Orihime's house, and Orihime calls out to her at school.

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Colleague, Friend, Affinity)

  Classmate who she scolds and teases.

  Childhood dojo acquaintance who grew up alongside her; she watched him struggle after his mother's death.

Yasutora Sado

Karakura High School

Ichigo's classmate who offers to help the Kurosaki family clean up.

Sado recalls his childhood in Mexico, where his grandfather Oscar Joaquín de la Rosa praised his physical gifts and taught him to use his large, strong fists to protect rather than hurt others.

• Role

  Offers help to the Kurosaki family after the house was damaged.

• Ichigo Kurosaki (Colleague, Affinity)

  Classmate who offers help.

• Oscar Joaquín de la Rosa (Family, Affinity)

  Oscar is Sado's grandfather, who praised him as physically gifted by God and told him to be kind and learn why he has such big and strong fists.

World Memo

• Two types of spirits

  Spirits come in two kinds: Pluses, the normal spirits that living people such as Ichigo can see, and Hollows, evil spirits that attack both the living and the dead to devour their souls.

  All Hollows were once Humans. Pluses who hold onto grudges and regrets are hard to perform Konsō on; they linger alone and become Hollows on their own or are devoured by other Hollows, and the devoured then become new Hollows.

• Hueco Mundo reached by dark portal

  Hollows can retreat into Hueco Mundo through a portal of darkness.

• Hollows hide between worlds

  Hollows usually hide in the space between worlds until they appear to devour souls, so they cannot be located in advance and only show up in the Human World when they attack.

• Gates of Hell reserved for sinners

  The Gates of Hell are reserved for Souls and Hollows who committed sins while alive. The Zanpakutō only washes away sins committed after death.

• Project Spearhead cancelled in Soul Society

  Soul Society once ran a program called Project Spearhead that placed artificial combat souls into dead human bodies to fight Hollows; it was cancelled because it would force corpses to fight, and all Mod-Souls in development were slated for destruction.

• Reiryoku as Shinigami life energy

  A Shinigami's Reiryoku is their life energy, so its depletion or excess bears on their survival.

• Attachment-driven Jibakurei become Hollows

  A Jibakurei that feels strong attachment to a part of the Human World left alone can eventually become a Hollow.

• Hollow origin from unguided souls

  Hollows are fallen souls that were not guided to Soul Society by a Shinigami or protected from Hollows, and they become Hollows themselves.

  A Hollow is a monster without conscience created when a Soul has its chain broken and a hole opens up in its chest.

• Quincy tribe extinct 200 years ago

  The Quincy were a tribe scattered throughout the world that specialized in destroying Hollows; humans with powers like Ichigo's sensed Hollows and trained to fight them, forming the tribe, and the tribe was destroyed about 200 years ago.

• Quincy kill Hollows, Shinigami purify them

  Shinigami purify Hollows and send them to Soul Society with their Zanpakutō, while the Quincy sought to completely kill Hollows, believing they were avenging their loved ones; this belief led to their destruction.

• Hollows emerge from sky tears

  Hollows appear through tears in the sky above Karakura Town, where a distorted sound resonates before they emerge.

• Hollows target high-Reiryoku people

  Hollows tend to attack people who have considerable Reiryoku.

Clue Board

• Suppressed Reiryoku origin (Episode 1)

  Rukia conjectures that Ichigo's power was almost completely suppressed until just now, which is why she sensed nothing from him and why no Hollow attacked him before. The cause of the suppression is unexplained.

• Urahara's group identity (Episode 7)

  Urahara and his employees can see and hear Ichigo, which surprises him. Ichigo asks who they are, and Urahara hesitates without giving an answer.

• Source of Ichigo's transformation (Episode 8)

  Saidō asks how a Human like Ichigo can transform this way and how he got the ability. Ichigo refuses to answer, so the source remains unexplained.

• Don Kanonji can see Ichigo (Episode 10)

  Don Kanonji can see Ichigo and claims this is because he is a charismatic medium, while Urahara notes he seems to have some power of his own; the source of that power is not explained.

• Missing Hollow after purification order (Episode 11)

  A purification order was received for a Hollow, but no Hollow appeared in the alleyway or after the search. Rukia suspects the Denreishinki may be broken, but the cause is not explained.

• Unseen savior of the Plus (Episode 11)

  Someone may have saved the Plus from the Hollow, but the Plus had his eyes closed the whole time and did not see who it was. The savior's identity is unknown.

• Uryū's advance knowledge of Hollow location (Episode 11)

  Uryū names the street where the new Hollow will appear before Rukia's Denreishinki reports the order. The source of his knowledge is not explained.

• Uryū's Quincy and Shinigami-link contradiction (Episode 11)

  Uryū reveals he is a Quincy who hates Shinigami and specifically hates Ichigo. He also knows that Ichigo is a Substitute Shinigami whose powers come from Rukia. The reason for his hatred is not explained.

• Karin's clear sight of Hollows (Episode 12)

  Karin can see Bulbous G very clearly, has seen a monster like it before, and has been wondering what Ichigo's association with such monsters is.

• Source of Sado's giant arm (Episode 12)

  Sado does not understand why armor suddenly appeared on his arm, why he could release such a powerful attack with it, or why he suddenly could see Bulbous G clearly.

Battle Record

Sado and Karin fight Bulbous G in the streets and field; Sado finally destroys it with a powerful punch that releases energy, blowing off its arm and then bifurcating it in an uppercut.

Heilig Pfeil hunt across Karakura Town

Uryū's kill count · Episode 11– (Ongoing)

Location: Karakura Town

Trigger: Uryū's duel with Ichigo over who kills the most Hollows in 24 hours

Sides

• Uryū Ishida — attacker: Uryū Ishida
• Hollows — defender: Hollows summoned by the bait

Three-Hollow street fight

Ichigo's third purification · Episode 12

Location: a street in Karakura Town

Trigger: Hollows emerging from the sky during the bait-driven outbreak

Sides

• Ichigo Kurosaki — attacker: Ichigo Kurosaki
• Hollows — defender: three large Hollows

Outcome: Ichigo defeats all three Hollows

Sado versus Bulbous G

Sado's arm armor manifests · Episode 12

Location: Karakura Town streets and an open field

Trigger: Bulbous G falls from the sky and hunts Sado, who is targeted by the Hollow

Sides

• Yasutora Sado — attacker: Yasutora Sado, Karin Kurosaki
• Bulbous G — defender: Bulbous G

Outcome: Bulbous G is destroyed by Sado

Aftermath

• Sado's right arm transforms into armor
• Sado collapses after the fight

Ability Table

Music Releases

• *~Asterisk~ (OP)
• Life is Like a Boat (ED)