The anime adaptation came about because NBCUniversal Entertainment and studio WHITE FOX had previously worked together on another project, and that connection led to them bringing the adaptation proposal forward.

Unlike the original 4-panel manga, which begins with Cocoa already working at Rabbit House, the first TV anime season starts earlier, with Cocoa searching for lodging, based on a guest-published chapter.

The town depicted in the anime is modeled after towns in the eastern French region, including Colmar, Montmartre, Strasbourg, and Riquewihr.

Director Hiroyuki Hashimoto, making his directorial debut with this series, was chosen thanks to a strong recommendation from production desk staffer Shin'ichirō Katō, and he aimed to give the episodic 4-panel-style story a stronger narrative flow so it wouldn't feel like a simple 4-panel comic adaptation.

Series composer Kazuyuki Fudeyasu was selected on the recommendation of Ken'ichi Kawamura, director of 'So I Can't Play H', after several other candidates had been considered; sub-writer Mio Inoue was also brought on because the staff wanted a female perspective to balance an otherwise male-dominated writing team.

Lead actress Ayane Sakura said in an ABEMA TIMES interview that she worried the show might not work since 'nothing happens', and performed her role somewhat blindly without a strong sense of how it was landing, so the cast was surprised by the strong reaction the low-key show received.

During the first season's broadcast, the internet catchphrase 'Aa~ kokoro ga pyonpyon suru n jaa~' became a viral meme, ranking 4th in the 2014 Anime Buzzword Awards; it originated from a mashup of the opening theme's 'kokoro pyonpyon' lyric and an unrelated crude internet forum post, and a bungee-jumping attraction based on the phrase was later featured at Niconico Chokaigi 2015.

The official Niconico streaming video of the first season's first episode became exceptionally popular, surpassing 5 million views and 1 million comments before the second season even aired, and it reached 10 million views by February 19, 2018, roughly three years and ten months after its initial release.

The theatrical special 'Dear My Sister' opened in 40 theaters nationwide in Japan and debuted at 4th place in box office rankings with about 79,000 admissions and 102 million yen in its first two days, eventually grossing an estimated 380 million yen overall.

For the 'Dear My Sister' theatrical special, production credits shifted from WHITE FOX (season 1) and Kinema Citrus (season 2) to production dóA, but much of the actual production work was carried out by staff from Diomedéa, credited as production cooperation, with Diomedéa president Mitsuru Ohara overseeing production.

For the upcoming feature film 'We Are Family!', the studio changes again to Bibury Animation Studios, with former director Hiroyuki Hashimoto being promoted to general director while Tensho takes over as director, and character designer Yōsuke Okuda is replaced by Akane Yano.