In Urusei Yatsura, Benten is portrayed as a "space biker chick" who is a member of the Fukujin alien clan, as well as a childhood friend of the series' female protagonist Lum.

The character of Benten was created by Rumiko Takahashi, author of the Urusei Yatsura manga series, making her first appearance in its 8th chapter, titled "Good Day for a Departure", which was first published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine on February 28, 1979.

[5][3] In order to contrast the character with Benzaiten – the latter usually described as a wise, elegant and artistic figure – Takahashi decided to give Benten a tomboyish and violent persona.

[3] During an August 2022 interview, Japanese voice actress Shizuka Ishigami stated that Benten, despite possessing a strong, masculine personality, is "perfectly capable of understanding the appeal of being a woman".

These situations include: Benten challenging a trio of middle-school space girls in an attempt to retrieve from the three of them a chain that she uses as the ignition key for her flying motorcycle;[10][11][12] her trying to prevent Ataru from crashing a party she – along with Lum, Shinobu, Sakura, Ran, Ryoko, Ryunosuke and Oyuki – were hosting in an old-fashioned sentō;[13] and aiding Ryunosuke in stealing a gang leader's bike in order to find a lost kitten he has been looking for, only for the duo to be followed by the entire biker gang whose leader they robbed earlier.