After graduation in 1990, he joined the Japanese public television network NHK where he was assigned to their Akita Broadcasting Station as a director.

In addition to producing documentaries for national broadcast, From 1990 to 1994, Ōtomo was director for a variety of TV programs, including a number of regional shows aimed at teen audiences.

When not in classes, he worked as an on-set crew member on various Hollywood productions, where he gained a valuable understanding of the US commercial film-making industry.

[2] In 2007, Ōtomo directed the action-packed corporate thriller TV series The Vulture (Hagetaka) starring Nao Ōmori.

Ryōmaden won many accolades and is considered one of the most successful series to date, renewing the image of historical dramas by its innovative approaches of meticulous modern film making, which deftly incorporated the use of long takes and pursued painstaking realism in character design.

With its period setting, intricate plot (based on the popular manga series), and unusual degree of high-speed action, film captivated audiences, going on to gross $36 million domestically.

(winner of the Excellence Award in the Manga Division of the 15th Japan Media Arts Festival) which explores the repercussions of probing the memories of the dead, was released.

In a span of approximately 18 months between 2018 and 2019, Ōtomo filmed Million Dollar Man (Okuotoko), Beneath the Shadow (Eiri), and the final two installments of Rurouni Kenshin in rapid succession.

Million Dollar Man (Okuotoko) [5] was based on Genki Kawmura’s novel which was nominated for the 12th annual Japan Bookseller’s Award (Honya Taisho Award,2015) and featured extensive international filming in Morocco, was released on October 19, 2018.

Shot entirely on location in his hometown of Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, explored loss and resilience in the aftermath of the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake.

Even though a state of emergency was declared in Japan and theaters across major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka closed on the third day of its release, The Final was a smash hit, grossing 4.35 billion yen ($37.8 million) at the box office.

Ōtomo was brought on board as director for the opening and real-time cinematics of Rise of The Rōnin[13] and was impressed by how Team Ninja have done their research and focused on every detail in the game's universe.