Apparently there is forty-nine episodes listed by ANN:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1840
Which confuses me, considering that I always believed that there were fifty, by then again forty-nine isn't unheard of...
Anyway, similar to
Ah! My Goddess!, I've only read the manga. However, I must say that it is one of my more favorite shounen series that doesn't get enough respect. Has amazing art, good cast of character, nice action, and has that episodic feel very early on that doesn't go away as the series progresses.
And yes, TSC, Akabane rocks.