[3] He has worked on several Studio Ghibli films, with Hayao Miyazaki even storyboarding certain scenes with Ohira in mind for the animation.
[4] After graduating school, Ohira decided to start working as animator due to family circumstances making it difficult for him to pursue higher education.
After The Hakkenden, Ohira would briefly retire from animation, returning to his hometown of Nagoya and taking over his parents' sewing factory business.
Ohira's animation is described as being "looser and weirder" in comparison with the previous scene, his style serving to convey the character's suspense and hesitation.
His work in the episode is described as resembling "unfinished pencil sketches", his style emphasizing "the materiality of Kid’s world and the status of his body as a drawn construct".
[1] Director Masaaki Yuasa referred to Ohira as "one of those masters capable of not only rendering beautifully realistic drawings, but also of imbuing animation with a sense of freedom".
[1] After leaving studio Pierrot, he worked on various OVAs which were less restrictive than TV anime, allowing Ohira to develop his special style.
[8] The Hakkenden would also feature the first instance of Ohira's loose and constantly deforming animation style, which he would solidify in the 2000s with his work on titles like The Animatrix: Kids story, Kill Bill: Volume 1, Windy Tales and Mind Game.
His animation featuring chaotic movement in the movie Lu Over the Wall was heavily altered to work with Flash, which drew criticism.
[14] In the first episode of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, the character Tsubame rushes home to watch a fictional anime by "the dream team, Inoue-san, Iso-san and Ohira-san" referring to Toshiyuki Inoue, Mitsuo Iso and Shinya Ohira.