Shingetsutan Tsukihime 1

In 2003, Tsukihime was adapted into a 12-episode anime TV series. The anime, directed by Sakurabi Katsushi and produced by J.C.Staff, began airing in October 9, 2003 on BS-i, TBS and Animax, who went on to broadcast it under the title Lunar Legend Tsukihime worldwide, including in Southeast Asia and South Asia. In 2004, Geneon announced it had licensed the series for distribution in North America as Tsukihime, Lunar Legend.

While not bad as an anime by itself, the adaptation received quite a bit of criticism from fans of the original game. One of the main reasons for the criticisms was due to the original story being compressed and cut to fit the anime. As a result, background settings and many details were left out, fight scenes and character developments were skimmed over, and those who did not play the original game were left clueless at times due to a lack of background knowledge. The anime received nicknames such as "Fake Tsukihime" or "Tsukihime Anime Never Happened." The director, Sakurabi Katsushi, supposedly having never played the original game, said that he wanted to create something unique and different for the anime.

Volume 1 of the Japanese DVD contains the first two episode of the anime:

• "Inverted Impulses" (反転衝動)
• "Black Beast" (黒い獣)