A minor character in the 2012 series, Shimotsuki's role has gained importance in the sequels, in which she becomes an inspector working in Unit One, an organization fighting crimes in a future where people live according to the will of the Sybl System.

Shimotsuki was created by writers Tow Ubukata and Gen Urobuchi in Psycho-Pass 2, as a supporting character contrasting with Nobuchika Ginoza.

In the 2020 film Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector, Shimotsuki's group is trapped inside a building by a terrorist who wants to kill the Tokyo governor, Karina Komiya.

During the making of Psycho-Pass 2, Ubukata and Shiotani decided on a color code for the new character lineup centering on Akane Tsunemori and the Sibyl System.

[7] For the first Sinners of the System film, Shiotani chose Nobuchika Ginoza and Mika Shimotsuki as the main characters because of their similarities to the protagonists of the first television series, Shinya Kogami and Akane Tsunemori respectively.

[8] Voice actress Ayane Sakura believed Shimotsuki became more suited to the role of heroine as a result of her experience in the second television series, where she was the youngest main character.

Fellow voice actor Kenji Nojima (Ginoza) responded similarly to Sakura's role, noting that Shimotsuki's traits were more upbeat than in Psycho-Pass 2.

In the sequel, Anime News Network found her to be different from her original Psycho-Pass traits, citing her mistreatment of Enforcers such as Nobuchika Ginoza, and also speculated that the character might have a crush on Yayoi Kunizuka, as Shimotsuki tends to favor her instead.

[13] Anime News Network panned Shimotsuki as an unlikable supporting character, saying that she remains the same regardless of undergoing major change of mind in the narrative.

[16] UK Anime Network said that, while Shimotsuki did not come across as likable, she is made more sympathetic by the difficulties she faces as a result of Togane and Sybil's manipulations.

[17] Anime News Network wrote that, despite her minor role in the 2015 movie, Shimotsuki's traits remained unlikable because of her hatred and informal manners whenever interacting with Tsunemori, which meant that viewers who had not watched the second series still understood the film.

Anime News Network praised Shimotsuki's role in Sinners of the System for the way she gains depth and becomes heroic while dealing with the antagonists.

[21] Anime News Network noted that there was a balance of power between the two types of crime-fighting organizations due to Shimotsuki being the leader of Unit One.

[22] Biggest in Japan found Shimotsuki's actions in First Inspector comical, based on her reactions to events in the final moments of the film.