Yasuomi Umetsu is a Japanese animator, character designer, and anime director born on December 19, 1960, in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. He graduated from the Chiyoda Institute of Technology and Art and began his career in the anime industry during the early 1980s. His early work included a period at Toei Animation, where he was influenced by animator Masami Suda, and later at Madhouse, where he contributed to films such as Harmagedon and worked on projects that helped establish his reputation as a skilled action animator. His directorial debut came in 1987 with his segment Presence in the anthology film Robot Carnival, for which he also handled the script, character designs, and animation direction.

Umetsu is best known for creating, writing, and directing original works that often blend stylized action with mature themes. His most famous work is the 1998 OVA series A Kite, a project on which he served as the original creator, writer, character designer, and director. He followed this with Mezzo Forte in 2000, another OVA with a similar mix of violent action and adult content. Both works were later released in edited versions for broader international audiences and developed cult followings. In 2004, he expanded the world of Mezzo Forte into a television series titled Mezzo DSA, marking his first time directing a full TV anime series. He returned to the Kite universe in 2008 with the sequel film Kite Liberator, continuing his role as director, writer, and character designer. After a period focused on directing opening and ending sequences for other series, Umetsu directed the original television series Galilei Donna in 2013 and Wizard Barristers in 2014. In 2025, he released his latest project, the film series Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl, created in collaboration with studio Shaft.

Throughout his career, Umetsu has cultivated a distinct artistic identity. He is a self-described fan of directors Rob Cohen and Quentin Tarantino, and his work is characterized by a fusion of stylized, often realistic action choreography with themes of eroticism and violence. His skills as an animator are highly regarded, particularly his ability to create fluid action sequences and dynamic visual effects like water and smoke. As a director, he has become equally renowned for his work on opening and ending sequences for television anime, a role where he exercises tight control over storyboarding, direction, and key animation to create stylish, music-synced vignettes that are frequently praised for their artistry.

Umetsu's significance in the industry lies in his reputation as a skilled craftsman and an auteur of original anime. While his original television series have faced mixed critical and commercial responses, his OVA works like A Kite have had a notable influence, inspiring references in Western media, including a music video for No Doubt and being used as a reference for the character Gogo Yubari in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. He continues to be active as a freelance animator and director, having a longstanding association with studios like Arms and Shaft, and remains highly respected among animation enthusiasts for his distinctive visual style and directorial sensibilities.