Soon after, at the age of 19, he got his first major break when he landed the role of mecha designer on Dancouga – Super Beast Machine God.

Not too long after, at the young age of 21, he was given his first directorial role by directing episodes 5 and 6 of the Bubblegum Crisis OVA series.

In 1993, he founded Studio G-1 with fellow animators Kazuto Nakazawa, Masahiro Yamane, Takehiro Nakayama, and Atsuko Ishida, to whom Masami Obari was married, but from whom he is currently divorced.

Although not originally interested in animation, he was inspired when he formed a high school friendship with classmate Satoshi Urushihara.

[2] He has a younger brother named Takami, who served as the president and CEO of New Japan Pro-Wrestling between October 2020 and December 2023.