The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12: Release date and time, what to expect, and more

The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 is set to be released on Friday, December 22, 2023, at 9 PM JST. With all of the Cardinal Heroes reunited at Lurolona Village, their preparation for the coming Phoenix is likely to begin in the next installment.

Unfortunately, the actual story content of The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 is essentially unknown at the time of this article’s writing. While this is to be expected given how rarely spoilers for an anime episode are released, it’s nevertheless frustrating for anime-only fans who are looking to get a sense of what to expect.

Follow along as this article breaks down the latest release information for The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 and more.

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The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 is set to begin Heroes' preparations for the Phoenix

Release date and time and where to watch

The alabtross around Rishia Ivyred's neck has finally been dealt with heading into The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 (Image via Kinema Citrus)

The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 is set to begin airing on local Japanese networks at 9 PM JST on Friday, December 22, 2023. For a vast majority of international fans, this translates to a release sometime on Friday, December 22 locally. A vast majority of international fans will instead see the episode become available very early Saturday morning locally. The exact time of release varies by region and timezone.

International audiences can stream the episode on Crunchyroll shortly after the episode begins airing in Japan. While Funimation previously streamed series’ new episodes for their subscribers weekly, it’s unclear if they’ll continue to do so for the upcoming third season. Resultantly, Crunchyroll is the overall better and more reliable option for legally viewing the upcoming episode.

The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 will be released in Japan at each of these times in the corresponding time zones:

• Pacific Standard Time: 4AM, Friday, December 22
• Eastern Standard Time: 7AM, Friday, December 22
• Greenwich Mean Time: 12PM, Friday, December 22
• Central European Time: 1PM, Friday, December 22
• Indian Standard Time: 5:30PM, Friday, December 22
• Philippine Standard Time: 8PM, Friday, December 22
• Japanese Standard Time: 9PM, Friday, December 22
• Australia Central Standard Time: 10:30PM, Friday, December 22

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Episode 11 recap

Season 3’s eleventh episode began with Itsuki saying words of affirmation to himself ahead of his arena fight with Rishia Ivyred. However, he assumes she’ll be an easy opponent given how weak she was before, laughing at the chance for mercy she shows him. Itsuki assumes he’s being tricked and must show how evil Naofumi truly is, aiming his bow toward the Shield Hero and shooting the crowd. He then accuses him of buying slaves for hard labor.

Itsuki then uses his new Justice Bow to try and prove himself right, but the arrows attack the announcer instead. He’s shown to be fine but apologizes for being under Naofumi’s service when he stands back up. Rishia then gets Itsuki’s attention back, beginning their fight and seeing her defeat him with his own bow’s power. The bow, rejecting Itsuki’s idea of justice, then seemingly creates a new weapon for Rishia to use against Itsuki himself.

Hilariously, Itsuki then runs to try and find Malty, only to find that she tricked and robbed him as she did the other heroes. Itsuki then passes out and dreams of the past, waking up in Lurolona Village where he’ll pay off his debts. The episode ends with Raphtalia wondering if Itsuki can overcome his catatonic-like state, to which Naofumi says that grappling with one’s own sense of justice can be a complicated task.

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What to expect (speculative)

Naofumi and co must now look to prepare for the Phoenix's arrival in The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 (Image via Kinema Citrus)

With all of the Cardinal Heroes now united under Naofumi’s efforts, The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 will likely return focus to the coming Phoenix Guardian Beast. While the beast is unlikely to appear in the next episode, fans should see Naofumi begin preparing the others for their coming fight by training with them.

The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 episode 12 will also likely give some focus to Malty, who has become a very present force in the latter half of the third season. While it’s unclear exactly what this focus will reveal, some sort of scheme or plan will likely be explained should said focus be given to her.

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Be sure to keep up with all The Rising of the Shield Hero news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news, as 2022 progresses.