The fourth 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 is named . 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...

. This season, along with season five, is not a direct adaptation of the 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...

 by 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...

; the plot focuses on the introduction of the Bount, a race of humans that consume human souls to extend their lives, and their conflicts with 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...

 and his allies. This season lasted twenty-eight episodes.

The season initially ran from January 17, 2006 to August 1, 2006 in Japan on 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...

. The English adaptation of the season began airing on May 18, 2008 on the 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 block, and the last episode of the season aired on December 6, 2008. Seven DVD compilations, each containing four episodes of the season, 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 May 24, 2006 to December 20, 2006. Viz Media released the season on seventeen DVDs from May 12, 2009 to November 17, 2009. Each of them contain four episodes in both English and Japanese languages. Two DVD box sets collecting the entire season were released on November 3, 2009 and February 16, 2010. Manga Entertainment

Manga Entertainment

Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...

 released the season in three DVDs for the United Kingdom from October 26, 2009 to June 7, 2010, while a box set was released on August 9, 2010.

The episodes use five 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 three ending themes. The opening theme for the first eleven episodes is 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 rest of the episodes use "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" by Beat Crusaders

Beat Crusaders

were a Japanese rock band. During all promotional appearances, their faces are masked by drawings resembling themselves as printed by a dot-matrix printer.-History:...

. The first ending theme is by SunSet Swish

SunSet Swish

is a three piece Japanese band. They are also known by their initials SSS. The band is part of Sony's SME Records label. Their first album, , was released on 15 November 2006. Their music have been used for a variety of anime series, namely: 2nd ending theme for the anime Ookiku Furikabutte is a...

, switching at episode 75 to "Hanabi

Hanabi (song)

"Hanabi" is a single by Ikimono-gakari. It was their second single, released in Japan on May 31, 2006.Hanabi was also featured on the popular anime Bleach in the third season during the Bount arc....

" by Ikimonogakari and again at episode 87 to "Movin!!" by Takacha.

Episode list

No.	Title	Original airdate	English airdate