The anime was broadcast on Kids Station between 2005-2006 for a total of 26 episodes. While it spent a long period of time in Keep Circulating the Tapes territory, the official Taiko no Tatsujin YouTube channel
began releasing an HD remaster of the series with English subtitles in 2022.
Taiko no Tatsujin: Clay Anime provides examples of the following tropes:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The other Mechadons built by Mechadon are Mechadon Cosmo, Gaia, Marine and... Deli, rulers of the skies, earth, seas and food respectively.
- Characterization Marches On: The anime hails from the early days of the franchise when the characters' portrayals hadn't settled into the form they would later take in the modern series, so remnants like Don and Katsu being much more mischievous and immature, Mechadon wanting to Take Over the World, and even the twins getting called Don and Katsu rather than only by their nicknames are still present here.
- Combining Mecha: Episode 10 has Mechadon build 4 copies of himself to combine with them into one of these.
- Drop the Washtub: One of the pranks Don plays on Katsu in Episode 13. Similarly, Katsu drops a giant blackboard eraser on Don.
- Fire-Breathing Diner: Katsu breathes fire after eating spicy curry in Episode 8.
- Inflating Body Gag: In Episode 13, Don pranks Katsu by sneaking up to him while he's sleeping and inflating him with an air pump until he pops.
- Sentai: The Piyo Rangers, a team of four color-coded chicks that hatch from eggs Mechadon intends to eat.
