According to Chihiro Tamaki in an interview printed in the North American edition of volume one, the story came about because she had an editor who liked to look at models, but she thought that a story just about the fashion industry as a business would be boring: "So the first thing I did was to decide upon a girl as a protagonist who would have average, ordinary characteristics—nothing outstanding, like celebrities who are known for extremely good or bad characteristics.

[6] Tamaki cited as specific influences Ashita no Joe for its plots and Rumiko Takahashi's Urusei Yatsura for its characters.

It was originally serialized by Kodansha in the shōjo manga magazine Vanilla aimed at older teenage girls; after Vanilla ceased publication in 2003, Walkin' Butterfly was serialized by Kadokawa X Media by mobile phone as part of its Comics Walker service until the series concluded in 2007.

The live-action drama, titled Walkin'☆Butterfly (ウォーキン☆バタフライ, in katakana instead of rōmaji like the manga), was broadcast in 12 episodes on TV Tokyo starting on 11 July 2008,[1] and running until 26 September.

Some of the actors appeared in the theatrical movie Flying☆Rabbits playing the same characters as in the drama[19] and the Japanese store, Toudoukan was used as a filming location in 2008.

[21][22][23] Anime News Network compared the story to a josei manga version of a shōnen tournament series aimed at boys,[24] saying "nothing here about the plot or the characters is particularly believable or novel.

[32][34] Reviewers criticized later volumes for allowing Michiko's mood swings to get tiresome,[35] and for switching to a more "standard" storyline.