[1] He first became interested in animation while in high school after seeing Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke.
He made his directorial debut with an OVA adaptation of Ayano Yamane's manga A Foreign Love Affair.
[7] After Pretty Boy Detective Club, he decided that he wanted to try directing at a different studio since he had been working with Shaft for so long;[1] so, in the middle of the production for the series Dance Dance Danseur, produced by MAPPA, he was asked if he wanted to join the series as its "ballet director.
"[8][1] In an interview between him and Shaft colleague Kenjirou Okada, the two were asked to describe each other's styles and processes as directors.
[9] Akiyuki Shinbo also commented in a separate interview that he felt Ootani and himself had similar visual sensibilities.