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.

[9] In World Youth, a new character named Shingo Aoi who trained in Italy joins Japan's team; he is an idol of Tsubasa.

[7] Because Takahashi likes European football, he decided Tsubasa would leave São Paulo and join Spain's Barcelona at the age of 21.

Takahashi also linked Tsubasa to Andrés Iniesta, who inspired him during a fictional match between the Real Madrid and Barcelona from the manga Road to 2002.

[20] For the 2018 anime, Yūko Sanpei took the role of Tsubasa's Japanese voice; she commented, "I thought he was cheerful and a naturally talented soccer player at first, but now I know he actually practices diligently".

At the beginning of the series, Tsubasa is a lonely, soccer-obsessed, unembittered, elementary school pupil who has recently moved to the city of Nankatsu with his mother.

[22] The duel is observed by Roberto Hongo, a former member of the Brazil national football team and a friend of Tsubasa's father, who becomes his mentor.

[23] Joining Nankatsu school's soccer team, Tsubasa meets Taro Misaki with whom he forms a pairing that is later called "The Golden Duo" (ゴールデンコンビ, Gōruden Konbi), and chief supporter Sanae Nakazawa who soon develops a crush on him.

[24][25] When Tsubasa is chosen as a member of the city's team for the national championship, he and his friends face opposition from Kojirou Hyuga, who becomes one of his biggest rivals.

[27] Tsubasa becomes a midfielder for Nakatsu and creates a shot known as Drive Shoot (ドライブシュート, Doraibu shūto) that can change the ball's reach.

[30] He leaves Japan to follow his dream of becoming a professional soccer player in Brazil but periodically returns to play for the national team.

[31][32] In the manga World Youth, Tsubasa has become São Paulo's captain and encounters a new rival named Carlos Santana who plays for CR Flamengo.

[33][34] Following their match, Tsubasa returns to Japan to help the young Japanese team pass the World Youth's Asian preliminaries.

[36][37] Tsubasa once again leads the Japanese team into the tournament and encounters old enemies including Carlos Santana in the finals and Natureza—a teenager trained by Roberto.

He continues playing for Barcelona because the Japanese coach decides not to seek help from international players in the Olympic Games' elimination stages.

[50][51] At the beginning of Rising Sun, Tsubasa has become his team's most valuable player because he has made multiple hat tricks and has helped Barcelona become the champion of La Liga.

[59] The final Tecmo game, Hasha no Shogo, has Tsubasa goes to Italy to play for the U.S. Lecce as a transfer from Brazil while later joining the Japanese team.

[65] The one-shot was adapted into an original video animation (OVA), in which Tsubasa can only assist Japan during the game's second half due to his late arrival.

[66] In the one-shot Captain Tsubasa 2000: Millennium Dream, he appears as a playable video game character competing with Brazil's team for a gold medal.

[82][83] The panel showing Tsubasa and Misaki simultaneously kicking a football— known as the "Twin Shot"—was depicted in a bronze statue that was created in 2018 and sited in Katsushika.

[84] In 2014, another statue of the Twin Shot was sponsored by Adidas and sited in displayed in Hysan Place to commemorate that year's World Cup in Brazil.

[85] In a match from Japan for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Japanese fans held a tifo featuring an illustration from the manga with multiple message that supported the team.

[87] The translator of the manga's Arabic edition, Kassoumah Mhd Obada, said he wanted its readers to be inspired by Tsubasa's hard work to live a healthy life despite their country's problems.

[91] In The Imperial Sportive: Sporting Lives in the Service of Modern Japan, Sandra Collins stated the series was successful because of the lead character's intense discipline within social groups and his rivalries.

[94] Tsubasa's debut in the 2018 anime was praised by Zona Freak because of the way he engaged Wakabayashi in a challenge involving kicking a ball under a truck.

[11] Espinof wrote that one of series' most notable features is that Tsubasa's skills allow him to score goals and that his training with his teammates also appealed to readers.

[101] James Rodríguez said he related to the character when watching the television series, which he enjoyed because of Tsubasa's playing techniques and relationship with his father.

[105][106] Spanish player Fernando Torres stated that he aspired to become a professional footballer because he had enjoyed seeing Tsubasa on television and wished to be like him.