is a Japanese
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
director, animation director and mecha and character designer.
Biography
After graduating from high school in 1985, Masami Obari began his career when he joined the animation studio
Ashi Production, where he worked on shows such as ''
Special Armored Battalion Dorvack'', ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...
'' (outsourced by
Toei Animation
is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
to them sometimes), and ''
Star Musketeer Bismarck''. Soon after, at the age of 19, he got his first major break when he landed the role of mecha designer on ''
Dancouga – Super Beast Machine God''. Not too long after, at the young age of 21, he was given his first directorial role by directing episodes 5 and 6 of the ''
Bubblegum Crisis
is a 1987-1991 Japanese cyberpunk original video animation (OVA) series produced by Youmex and animated by Anime International Company, AIC and Artmic.
The series involves the adventures of the Knight Sabers, an all-female group of Mercenar ...
'' OVA series. He also made three
Fatal Fury
''Fatal Fury'', known as in Japan, is a fighting game series developed by SNK, first released on the Neo Geo system.
Gameplay
The original ''Fatal Fury'' is known for the two-plane system. Characters fight from two different planes. By step ...
films from December 23, 1992, to July 16, 1994.
In 1993, he founded
Studio G-1 with fellow animators
Kazuto Nakazawa,
Masahiro Yamane, Takehiro Nakayama, and
Atsuko Ishida, to whom Masami Obari was married, but from whom he is currently divorced.
Studio G-1 was later disbanded and was reformed under the name of
Studio G-1 Neo in 2000.
Although not originally interested in animation, he was inspired when he formed a high school friendship with classmate
Satoshi Urushihara.
In 2016, Obari married the professional model maker Ritsu Togasaki.
He has a younger brother named Takami, who served as the president and CEO of
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
between October 2020 and December 2023.
Filmography
Director
Original video animation
* 1988 ''Moonlight Rambler'' (Part 5 of ''
Bubblegum Crisis
is a 1987-1991 Japanese cyberpunk original video animation (OVA) series produced by Youmex and animated by Anime International Company, AIC and Artmic.
The series involves the adventures of the Knight Sabers, an all-female group of Mercenar ...
'')
* 1989 ''Red Eyes'' (Part 6 of ''Bubblegum Crisis'')
* 1991–1992 ''
Detonator Orgun''
* 1996 ''
Battle Arena Toshinden
''Battle Arena Toshinden'', released as in Japan, is a 1995 fighting video game developed by Tamsoft and published by Takara for the PlayStation. It was one of the first fighting games, after ''Virtua Fighter'' on arcade and console, to boas ...
''
* 1996 ''
Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer''
* 1997–1998 ''
Voogie's Angel'' (co-directed with Aoi Takenouchi)
* 1999 ''Dangaizer 3''
* 2001–2003 ''
Angel Blade''
* 2001–2003 ''Marine a Go Go''
* 2002 ''Viper GTS''
* 2004–2005 ''
Angel Blade Punish!''
* 2017 ''
Gundam Build Fighters: Battlogue''
* 2020 ''
Gundam Build Divers Battlogue''
Original net animation
* 2023 ''
Amaim Warrior at the Borderline: UltraSteel Ogre-Gear''
* 2023 ''
Gundam Build Metaverse''
Television series
* 1997 ''
Virus Buster Serge''
* 2000 ''
Platinumhugen Ordian
is a Japanese anime series. Directed by Masami Ōbari, the 24 episodes were broadcast on WOWOW between April 4 and September 19, 2000.
Ordian was Masami Obari's second attempt at directing an anime television series, following 1997's
'' ...
''
* 2002 ''
Gravion''
* 2004 ''
Gravion Zwei''
* 2007 ''
Dancouga Nova – Super God Beast Armor''
* 2007 ''
Prism Ark''
* 2010–2011 ''
Super Robot Wars Original Generation: The Inspector''
* 2013 ''Bakujyuu Kasshin Ziguru Hazeru''
* 2024 ''
Brave Bang Bravern!''
Animated feature film
* 1994 ''
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture''
Designer
Character design
= Direct-to-video animation
=
* 1988–1990 ''Guy: Double Target'' (Monster Design)
* 1990–1992 ''
Guardian of Darkness'' (Monster Design)
* 1993–1994 ''
Time Bokan: Royal Revival'' (Key animation; episode 2)
* 1996–1997 ''
Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer''
* 1997–1998 ''
Voogie's Angel''
* 2001–2003 ''
Angel Blade'' (Monster Design)
* 2004–2005 ''Angel Blade Punish!''
= Television series
=
* 1997 ''
Virus Buster Serge''
* 1998 ''
Weiss Kreuz
Weiss or Weiß may refer to:
People
* Weiss (surname), including spelling Weiß
* Weiss Ferdl (1883-1949), German actor
Places
* Mount Weiss, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
* Weiss Lake, Alabama
* Weiß (Sieg), a river in North Rhine-W ...
'' (Animation director for the 1st opening sequence)
* 2000 ''
Platinumhugen Ordian
is a Japanese anime series. Directed by Masami Ōbari, the 24 episodes were broadcast on WOWOW between April 4 and September 19, 2000.
Ordian was Masami Obari's second attempt at directing an anime television series, following 1997's
'' ...
'' (Concept, Series director, director Episode 24)
= Animated feature film
=
* 1992 ''
Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf''
* 1993 ''
Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle''
* 1994 ''
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture''
= Video games
=
* 1995 ''
Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer'' (also voices Brider in the game)
* 2022 ''
The King of Fighters XV
is a 2022 fighting game developed by KOF Studio and published by SNK in Japan and Koch Media internationally for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. It is the fifteenth main installment in the ''The King of Fighters'' seri ...
''
* 2025 ''
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves''
Mecha design
= Direct-to-video animation
=
* 1985–1987 ''
Fight! Iczer One''
* 1987–1991 ''
Bubblegum Crisis
is a 1987-1991 Japanese cyberpunk original video animation (OVA) series produced by Youmex and animated by Anime International Company, AIC and Artmic.
The series involves the adventures of the Knight Sabers, an all-female group of Mercenar ...
'' (DD design)
* 1987–1989 ''
Dangaioh''
* 1999 ''Dangaizer 3''
* 2001–2003 ''Marine a Go Go''
= Television series
=
* 1985 ''
Dancouga – Super Beast Machine God''
* 1991–1992 ''
The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'' (chief animator, mecha designer for 9 episodes, opening sequence solo animator)
* 1992–1993 ''
Tekkaman Blade'' (opening sequence animator)
* 1994–1995 ''
Magic Knight Rayearth'' (opening sequence animator)
* 1994–1995 ''
Brave Police J-Decker'' (Guest Mecha Design for episodes 1–3)
* 2000 ''
Platinumhugen Ordian
is a Japanese anime series. Directed by Masami Ōbari, the 24 episodes were broadcast on WOWOW between April 4 and September 19, 2000.
Ordian was Masami Obari's second attempt at directing an anime television series, following 1997's
'' ...
''
* 2002 ''
Gravion''
* 2004 ''
Gravion Zwei''
* 2007 ''
Jūsō Kikō Dancouga Nova''
* 2010–2011 ''
Super Robot Wars Original Generation: The Inspector''
* 2015–2017 ''
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans'' (Animation direction, key animation, in-between animation)
* 2019 ''
Pop Team Epic TV Special'' (1st half prologue skit and opening sequence)
* 2022 ''Pop Team Epic Series 2'' (Episode 2 story part and ending sequence)
= Video games
=
* 1989 ''
Moto Roader''
* 2007 ''
Super Robot Wars: Original Generations''
* 2007 ''
Super Robot Wars OG Gaiden''
* 2008 ''
Super Robot Wars Z''
* 2012 ''
2nd Super Robot Wars Z''
* 2015 ''3rd Super Robot Wars Z''
* 2018 ''Mobile Corps Iron Saga''
* 2019 ''Super Robot Wars DD''
Bibliography
* ''G-One Masami Obari's Super Design Works First Mission'' (G-ONE 大張正己作品集). Movic, 1998.
* ''Masami Obari Artworks Robot Soul'' (大張正己 画集 ロボ魂-ROBOT SOUL-). SB Creative, 2013.
* ''Masami Obari Art Book OBARISM'' (大張正己画集 OBARISM). Hobby Japan, 2022.
References
["Prism Ark". ''Newtype USA''. 6 (11) p. 11. November 2007. .]
External links
*
*
Masami Obarianime works at Media Arts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obari Masami
Sunrise (company) people
1966 births
Living people
Japanese animated film directors
Anime directors
Anime character designers
Mechanical designers (mecha)
Japanese animators
People from Hiroshima Prefecture
Place of birth missing (living people)
Brave series