After graduating in Tokyo, he joined Toei Doga in 1963. In 1965 he was promoted from inbetweener and animator to director of animation with the TV Series "Obake no Qtaro" ("Ghost Qtaro"). In 1966 he left Toei and joined A Pro. (later Shin'Ei Doga). His first TV series in the company was "Pa-man" (1967-68). In 1979 he co-directed the first episodes of the TV series "Doraemon", and later more than 20 films based on the character, beginning with the fourth one (in 1983). All the three series are based on mangas by Fujiko-Fujio, but Shibayama is also famous for TV series based on other mangas, as "Tensai Bakabon" by Fujio Akatsuka, "The Gutsy Frog" by Yasumi Yoshizawa and above all the film trilogy "Cheer up, Tabuchi-kun" (1979-80) by Hisaichi Ishii.