Masami Ōbari is a Japanese anime director, animator, character designer, and mechanical designer born on January 24, 1966, in Hiroshima Prefecture. He is recognized for a distinctive visual style that has made him a significant figure in action and mecha anime since the mid-1980s.

Ōbari entered the animation industry immediately after graduating high school in 1985, joining Ashi Production. His early career was marked by rapid advancement; at age 19, he served as a mechanical designer on the series Dancouga – Super Beast Machine God. By the age of 21, he had made his directorial debut, working on episodes of the Bubblegum Crisis original video animation series. In 1993, he founded his own studio, Studio G-1, which was later reformed as Studio G-1 Neo.

As an original creator, Ōbari is best known for conceiving and directing several original video animation series. Among his most notable original creations are the two entries in the Angel Blade franchise: Angel Blade, released from 2001 to 2003, and its sequel Angel Blade Punish!, released from 2004 to 2005. He also created and directed the mecha series Gravion and its sequel Gravion Zwei, which aired on television in 2002 and 2004 respectively. His other directorial works include the OVAs Detonator Orgun, Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer, and Dangaizer 3.

Beyond his original projects, Ōbari has a substantial history of adapting existing properties. He directed three films based on SNK’s Fatal Fury fighting game series: Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf, Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle, and Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, for which he also served as character designer and animation director. He was the character designer for the OVA adaptation of the fighting game Battle Arena Toshinden, which he also directed. His work on video game franchises extends to creating a special animated short for The King of Fighters XV and directing promotional videos for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. He has also contributed key animation and design work to numerous long-running franchises, including various Gundam series, Transformers, and the Super Robot Wars video game series.

Ōbari’s artistic identity is highly recognizable and influential, often referred to by fans as having a distinct flair. As an animator, he emerged from the Kanada school, a lineage known for dynamic and exaggerated motion, but developed his own spin on the style. His work is characterized by what has been called hyper-realism, combining dense, detailed drawings, especially of mechanical subjects, with fluid, readable action. He is famous for creating striking poses, including a signature punch where a robot or character appears to strike directly at the camera, a technique known as the Obari punch. He is also noted for drawing mecha with handsome, almost human-like faces, a method that involves sketching a human face first before adding mechanical parts. He frequently works without using a ruler or eraser, drawing complex mechanical forms entirely freehand.

Ōbari’s significance in the anime industry stems from his role as a key innovator in action and mecha animation during the OVA boom of the late 1980s and 1990s. His solo key animation for the opening sequence of Metal Armor Dragonar is considered a landmark work that inspired a generation of younger animators. His style has been directly cited as an influence by prominent figures such as Hiroyuki Imaishi and Yutaka Nakamura. While sometimes criticized for reusing his signature poses, Ōbari considers them his personal trademarks, akin to signature moves in professional wrestling. His career has seen both the success of his own studio and periods of working across various genres. He remains active, continuing to direct, design, and produce animation for television, original video, and promotional projects. Several art books collecting his illustrations and designs have been published, including Robot Soul and OBARISM.