Kaleido Star is an original creation by Junichi Sato, known for directing Sailor Moon and Ojamajo Doremi, and it is set in the world of circus performance—a rare theme in Japanese anime—inspired by Cirque du Soleil.

The show's original concept and series structure were based on the real-life experiences of a Japanese circus performer named Dio who worked abroad; the character Dio, who resembles him closely, appears several times in the series, and the credits include a 'special thanks Dio' as a tribute from director Sato.

Each episode's subtitle follows a pattern inserting the word 'sugoi' (amazing) in the middle, a rule that was not part of the original planning but was established as a formal rule shortly before broadcast began.

In the original concept at the start of the broadcast, there was supposed to be a romantic rivalry between Sora and Layla over Yuri, but this idea was gradually dropped as the story developed.

The character name 'Kevin' (Layla's father) was decided based on a listener's email suggestion when director Junichi Sato and producer Toya Ikeda appeared as guests on the show's internet radio program.

The seal character Jonathan was named after the Japanese family restaurant chain 'Jonathan's,' where series composition writer Reiko Yoshida was writing the script for the episode introducing him.

The second episode's broadcast was delayed due to news coverage of the fall of Baghdad during the Iraq War, causing a scheduling mismatch between Tokyo's key station and affiliate stations that was only resolved a month later.

A promotional DVD giveaway event at Akihabara Station in August 2004 drew over 200 fans after producers hinted only around 100 copies would be distributed, leading to a crowd surge, police intervention, and a public apology from the producer; the DVD was later included as a pre-order bonus for the first OVA.