The is the third season of the Bleach

Bleach (manga)

is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Noriaki "Tite" Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a —a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki...

anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series. In the English adaptation of the anime released by Viz Media

VIZ Media

VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...

, the title of the season is translated as The Rescue. The episodes are directed by Noriyuki Abe

Noriyuki Abe

is a Japanese anime director, storyboard artist, and sound director. He is best known for working with Studio Pierrot on major hits such as Ninku, Flame of Recca, Bleach, and Yu Yu Hakusho...

 and produced by TV Tokyo

TV Tokyo

is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...

, Dentsu

Dentsu

is one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. Its headquarters are located in the Dentsu Building in the Shiodome district of Minato, Tokyo....

, and Studio Pierrot

Studio Pierrot

is a Japanese animation/animation studio, founded in 1979 by former employees of Tatsunoko Production. Its headquarters is located in Mitaka, Tokyo.The company has a simple logo of the face of a clown...

. The episodes are based on Tite Kubo

Tite Kubo

, known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. His most significant work is the manga series Bleach.-Biography:Kubo was the son of a town council member in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima. He never took drawing seriously until he was 17, and after reading the manga Saint Seiya which...

's Bleach manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series over twenty-two episodes. The episodes' plot centers on Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo Kurosaki

is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Bleach by Tite Kubo. He is the story's main character. The series begins with Ichigo receiving Soul Reaper powers as a result of a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, the Soul Reaper assigned to patrol his city, Karakura Town...

's and his friends' efforts to save Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki

Rukia Kuchiki

Rukia is 4foot 8 . is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. In the series, Rukia is a Soul Reaper in charge of slaying evil spirits known as Hollows...

 from execution by her superiors in Soul Society.

The season initially ran from July 26, 2005 to January 10, 2006 in Japan on TV Tokyo. The English adaptation of the season began airing on July 21, 2007 on Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network (United States)

Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...

's Adult Swim

Adult Swim

Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...

 programming bloc. On October 14, 2007, the Bleach anime went on a hiatus; episodes resumed airing on March 2, 2008, and finished airing on May 11, 2008.

The episodes use four pieces of theme music

Theme music

Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...

: two opening themes and two ending themes. The opening theme for the first ten episodes is "D-TecnoLife" by Uverworld

Uverworld

Uverworld is a Japanese rock band consisting of five members originating from Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan. Releasing six studio albums and several singles, which went on to achieve massive success, they went on to become one of the most influential rock bands in Japan to this day.-2000–2005: Beginnings...

; the other episodes of the season use by High and Mighty Color

High and Mighty Color

High and Mighty Color was a Japanese metal band active from 2003 to 2010. They notably had two vocalists; a male and a female.- Formation and Anti-Nobunaga :...

. The two ending themes are "happypeople" by Skoop on Somebody, used from episode 42 to 52, and Yui

Yui (singer)

, stylized as YUI, is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, composer, actress, and radio personality. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she played live at various locations in her home town before being noticed by Sony Music Japan when she was 17 and released her debut single months later...

's "Life", which was used for the remainder of the episodes.

Five DVD compilations, each containing four episodes of the season, with the exception of the last two discs with contain five episodes, were released by Aniplex

Aniplex

, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...

 between December 21, 2005 to April 26, 2006. The English adaptation of the anime is distributed by Viz Media; three DVD compilations have been released on July 22, 2008, September 23, 2008, and November 18, 2008 respectively. Another DVD compilation was set for release on January 20, 2009.

Episode list

No.	Title	Original airdate	English airdate