Ume Aoki is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, and voice actor, born on August 3, 1981, in Hyōgo Prefecture. She is a graduate of Musashino Art University. Aoki's career is primarily defined by her work as a creator of manga and character designs, but she is also noted for a singular, significant voice acting role closely tied to her own creative work.

Aoki provided the voice for the character Ume-sensei in the anime adaptation of her own four-panel comic strip, Hidamari Sketch. This character is a personification of a caterpillar, which serves as her author avatar in the series. The anime adaptation was produced by the studio Shaft, marking the beginning of a recurring collaboration between Aoki and the studio. Following Hidamari Sketch, Aoki created the original character designs for another Shaft anime production, the critically and commercially successful series Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Her involvement with this franchise has been extensive and long-standing, contributing to its various films, mobile games, and manga adaptations, including Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story.

Beyond these major works, Aoki's career includes character design and artwork for the visual novel Sanarara, for which she used the pen name Apply Fujimiya. She has also authored and illustrated several other manga series, such as Tetsunagi Kooni, Mado no Mukōgawa, and Binetsu Kūkan. Her voice acting credit, however, remains specifically connected to her role in Hidamari Sketch. While her primary professional recognition stems from her work as a visual creator, her performance as Ume-sensei represents a notable intersection of her artistic talents, where she directly voiced a character born from her own manga.