When Ichiro Itano was 20 years old, he decided one night to strap 50 fireworks onto his motorbike, light them with a Zippo, and start speeding down his local beach at 80 miles an hour. Why? Because he was told it was dangerous.

 

In the midst of all the smoke, light, and sound emanating from the fireworks, the young daredevil and animator gained the inspiration for what would become one of the most iconic sequences in animation. Muraki, Masami Goto, and Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideki Anno.

The “Itano Circus,” where a single character or object maneuvers through a torrent of missiles (or lasers, body parts, etc.), all in a single shot or within a single cut of the character, often shown from the perspective of the cockpit, is one of anime’s most dynamic, stylish, and visually distinctive tropes. Itano first used the technique in the 1980 series Space Runaway Ideon, and gained even more attention for the technique when he pulled it out for 1982’s Super Dimension Fortress Macross, hence the origin of its other name, “The Macross Missile Massacre.” Muraki, Masami Goto, and Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideki Anno.

Since the 1980s, it has been one of the most copied sequences in animation, many attempting to mimic or even outdo the innovator. Itano has said that only three animators have successfully pulled off the technique: Yasushi

https://www.vulture.com/article/most-influential-best-scenes-animation-history.html