Biography
Masami Oobari (大張正己) is a Japanese anime director, animation director, and mechanical designer, born January 24, 1966, in Kanagawa Prefecture and raised in Hiroshima Prefecture [1][2]. He joined the studio Ashi Production straight out of high school in 1985, and within a year was working as mechanical designer on Super Beast Machine God Dancougar, the project that made his name at age nineteen [1][2]. He got his first director's chair only a few years later, on episodes 5 and 6 of the Bubblegum Crisis OVA, and went on to direct all three Fatal Fury feature films between 1992 and 1994 [1]. In 1993 he co-founded the animation studio Studio G-1 with fellow animators including Kazuto Nakazawa, reorganizing it as Studio G-1 Neo in 2000, and later created and directed the Choujuushin Gravion TV series, handling original creation and character design as well [1]. His mecha animation is known for exaggerated proportions, sharp posing, and aggressive motion, a look fans nicknamed "Obarism" or "Bari-mecha," and Japanese Wikipedia credits it with influencing the visual language of later franchises including Mobile Suit Gundam SEED [2]. He continues to direct, most recently the 2024 series Bang Bravern [1].