 Manga author Yōichi Takahashi created Tsubasa Oozora as a part of a growth story intended to show the readers and viewers how characters are developed through the plot.He gave Tsubasa multiple rivals with differing traits to make his matches more challenging.Jun Misugi was at first a superior player to Tsubasa but Takahashi made Misugi suffer from heart problems to bring more conflict into the match between the two players.