Bleach Episode 12: A Gentle Right Arm

Tessa

May 2

It has been a while since I last posted for this, and I want to work through the series again. The name of Bleach episode 12 tells me that we will be with Sado/Chad. I know this because I have watched Bleach so many times before. I am looking forward to getting back into the anime, which I have put on hold, so that I will do these blog posts.

Arc: Agent of the Shinigami arc / Manga Chapter: 33-36

What happens in Bleach episode 12?

First half

The episode starts off with Ichigo facing Uryū. Ichigo asks to have the rules explained to him for the battle that Uryū is setting up. Uryū brings out the hollow bait and explains that it will draw hollows to the town. Ichigo is horrified at this and is instantly against it, but Uryū pushes ahead and explains that whoever kills the most hollows that are going to gather over 24 hours is the winner. Ichigo is against the decided contest due to his concern for the average person and the risk involved with calling hollows to them. Uryū ignores Ichigo's concerns because he is confident that he can kill all of the hollows before they can cause trouble. He then taunts Ichigo and breaks the bait, starting their battle. Immediately after the bait is used, a hollow starts emerging from the sky, and Uryū gets the first kill with his bow. Ichigo is now mad at Uryū because he has put thousands of people in danger for a fight that should have only involved the two of them.

Ichigo calls off the fight and demands that Uryū fix things so that the hollows will not come, but Uryū tells him, that it is not possible. Uryū keeps taunting Ichigo. Uryū does give Ichigo a hint as to who the Hollows will target and who he should focus on. He instantly thinks of his sisters and rushes to them, leaving Uryū behind. Uryū confirms that Ichigo still hasn't noticed whom he was referring to with his hint. He is determined to prove to Ichigo how weak he and the other shinigami really are. He summons his bow and says again how he dislikes Shinigami.

We cut to Tatsuki who can hear and then see two ghosts flirt during her break in her karate gi. As her break ends and she starts heading back to the club, Orihime stops her asking if they can talk. While looking at Orihime, Tatsuki thinks back on when she started to see strange things and recalls some of the events from episodes two and three. At first, she dismissed it as a dream until Orihime said she had the same dream. Since then, her memories from that night are becoming clearer a ghost got between her and Orihime and started teasing her. Annoyed, she tells it to "get the hell out of here" which confuses Orihime. When Orihime starts telling her something, they hear glass breaking and background chatter, which lets you know it was a window that had shattered. Tatsuki tells Orihime they will talk later and goes to investigate/see the broken window telling Orihime to follow. Orihime gets distracted by a strange distortion in the sky.

We are then on a field with Karin who is playing soccer with her friends. She gets distracted mid-kick and looks up at the sky while feeling that something is wrong. The episode then cuts to a zoom-in frame of Kisuke sitting in his shop. A hollow then emerges which catches Ichigo's attention. He cuts it in half and says that it is the third hollow (side note: so even though he is angry and wanted this called off, he is keeping count). He is still looking for his sister Karin when he discovered that she was not at school.

Second half

Uryū is firing off arrow after arrow from his position on a bridge killing hollow after hollow. He kills his seventh, eighth and ninth easily, quickly bringing his kill count to eleven. He is surprised by the large black distortion in the sky above. Back with Kisuke in his shop, he too seems surprised by something and we see Rukia is there with him. Rukia is annoyed at the number of hollow notifications and is relieved that the notification is ending quickly, assuming that Ichigo is working quickly and handling them. However, Kisuke's reaction in the background indicates something big is going on. Rukia is frustrated with her beeper (Denreishinki). Rukia looks alarmed as the beeper keeps going off and the hollow numbers keep increasing. While looking at the map on the beeper she hears a hollow roar, heads outside the shop and sees the black distortion in the sky. Rukia is confused and worried as she can feel that there is a lot of agitated spirit energy. Kisuke remains silently seated, thinking.

Ichigo is still wandering the town, trying to find his sister, and gets slightly delayed by three hollows. Uryū is watching what is happening up in the sky while still drawing his bow and shooting arrows. Chad is downtown with some friends but gets distracted by what is happening in the sky. Noting that he had felt this feeling before. While talking with his friends, a hollow lands behind Chad; which results in his friends questioning what caused the smoke and earth to shake—if it was a gas explosion. Chad recognises what it is by recognising the telltale signs of a shimmering spot similar to heatwaves. Sado pushes his two friends out of the way and dodges just in time. He tells them to run and starts dodging the hollow's attack which causes a lot of damage. He realises pretty quickly that he is the target and decides to go to a less busy area where it can not hurt anyone else.

Karin kicks the soccer ball into a friend's face, which results in a nosebleed. Her friends get upset with her because this happened due to her not paying attention. She decides she will head home after the guys ask her if she wants to play or not. While leaving, she sees Chad and asks him what he is doing at their playground. Before he can answer, he picks her up and dodges an attack from the hollow. She is surprised to see the hollow and asks Chad to tell her what it is. He doesn't answer her, keeping his attention on it and trying to assess the situation when Karin mentions it is coming back. He realises she can see it clearly. As he is dodging the next attack while picking up and carrying Karin, she realises, he can not see it. She proposes that they work together, and he does not want to get a kid involved, let alone Ichigo's younger sister. Karin admits she knows these creatures have something to do with Ichigo, which shocks Chad.

He dodges another punch but takes the opportunity to punch the hollow back. However, he is unable to dodge the next blow, which leaves him unconscious, but he still manages to protect Karin. Not knowing what is going on, her friends come running up to find out what is going on, and she yells at them to go away. Her friends are upset at the way she is acting, while all she can do is watch the hollow go behind them. To protect her friends, she jumps towards her friends knocking one of them down. Chad is waking up, and he sees this. He gets a flashback to when he was younger, living in Mexico with his grandfather. While he is standing up (which makes Karin's friends run off) he is mentally confirming his big, strong body is there to defend himself and others.

While resolving himself to defend Karin and fight the hollow, which he cannot see, he asked his grandfather to lend him his strength, and the power needed to protect others. Chad and the hollow clash, which results in an explosion of energy that throws the hollow back with one arm less. As the dust settles, it is revealed that Chad's right arm has changed. Chad momentarily looks at his arm, clenches his fist, and then charges at the hollow to continue the fight. Karin is confused as Chad delivers an uppercut to the hollow and blows it to smithereens.

Karin asks if his arm is alright, and he responds with a thumbs up. She finds his response incredibly cringe-worthy and dorky. Chad then collapses, like a falling totem pole landing on his back. Laying on the ground, he questions what happened and where the armour on his arm came from. He reveals that, with the appearance of the armour, he could also finally see the hollow clearly. When Karin comes up to him and leans over to check on him, he asks that she please tell him that she is not hurt. She lets him know that the only person hurt is himself. He mentions that he is happy that he is the only one who is hurt, which results in Karin kicking him, telling him that being hurt is not good, and starting a rant. She finishes it off by telling Chad not to move, that she is getting her father to put him back together, and that if he moves, she will kick him again. This left a deep impression on Chad. He comments that he can tell she is Ichigo's sister because she kicks just like him.

Back at the high school, the girls are cleaning up the shattered glass from the window, and thunder can heard. Orihime is distracted by something on the roof.

Memorable moments Bleach episode 12:

Uryū Breaking the Hollow Bait: Instead of a straightforward battle, Uryū reveals that they will be using Hollow Bait. Shockingly, Uryū is willing to endanger the innocent citizens of Karakura Town for their duel which makes this quite a memorable moment.

Chad's Arm Transformation: The music and the sudden transformation of the arm stood out. With the added mystery surrounding his abilities, make this another moment that is memorable in this episode.