The anime, directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, began airing on Japan's Fuji TV on January 10, 1996 and ended on September 8, 1998. It was produced by Aniplex and Fuji TV, and was animated from episode 1 to 66 by Studio Gallop, whereas the episodes from 67 onwards were animated by Studio Deen. The anime only adapts the manga up until the fight with Shishio, from then on it features original material not in the manga. The final episode did not air in Japan, but was a bonus episode for the VHS and DVD releases. Since its premiere in Japan, episodes from the series have been collected in DVDs various times: two DVDs series with both of them featuring four episodes per volume and three DVD boxes.

In 1999 Sony tried and failed to market the series in the United States as Samurai X via an existing company. The TV series was later licensed in North America by Media Blasters, who split it up into "seasons", and released on DVD. It started airing in the US on the Cartoon Network as a part of the Toonami Block on March 17, 2003, but ended at the completion of the "second season" (episode 62).Episodes 63-95 did not air, but were included in the DVD release. The twenty-two English DVDs from the series were released from July 18, 2000 to September 24, 2002. Each of them contain four episodes except for volume 22, which contains five episodes. The "seasons" were later released in three premium "Bento box" DVD boxes on November 18, 2003, March 30, 2004 and July 27, 2004. They were released again, but in new packaging as "economy box" sets on November 15, 2005, January 17, 2006 and February 14, 2006. Sony Pictures Television International created an English-language version of the series, titled Samurai X, that airs outside of the United States.