Masami ÅŒbari
Masami Ōbari (大張正己, Ōbari Masami) (born January 24, 1966) is a Japanese character designer, animation director and overall artist known primarily for his work on mecha-related anime productions. As a director, some of his work includes Super Robot Wars, Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer and the original Bubblegum Crisis. As a mecha designer, some of his work includes Dancouga, Gravion and Brave Police J-Decker. He originally worked for Production Reed and later formed his own studio, Studio G-1 (later known as Studio G-1 Neo).
According to Pioneer's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers laserdisc box set booklet[1], Ōbari made his professional debut on The Transformers, directing and animating Optimus Prime's transformation sequence. It is popularly cited that he directed the full episode "Call of the Primitives"[2], as the anime-esque character designs unique to that episode share in his overall aesthetic. The lack of overseas credits attached to The Transformers episodes, unfortunately, make that an unconfirmed belief.
Ōbari would later provide cover artwork to the Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers Autobot Collection laserdisc (and later, DVD) box set for Disk 1.
