🔗 Share this article

A great deal has been documented about the act of running, a restorative movement with ability for cathartic release. Within the context of professional sports, though, the pressure of rivalry can make people lose sight of this ultimate goal. Adapted from the eponymous manga, Kenji Iwaisawa’s enthralling anime goes past awards and honors to investigate the inner motivation that drives an competitor’s aspiration.

Plot Overview

The 100-Meter Film chronicles Togashi and Komiya, early-life buddies whose career trajectories separate when they go pro. Once the fastest grade-schooler in Japan, Togashi assists the more uncertain Komiya with the essentials. As the twosome enter their teens and their 20s, Komiya progressively advances up the leaderboard of elite competitors, while Togashi is mired in a rut; both battle fears and doubts. Encompassing more than 15 years, the tale documents their psychological barriers, exposing the challenges of an sports professional’s journey, trapped in a pattern of media attention, result pressures and commercial obligations.

Artistic Strengths

Maybe it’s down to the source material, but the animation’s answer to these complex dilemmas is rather superficial; time and time again, a lead’s mental struggles simply disappear after a extended discussion with a peer or a senior. But what the film is deficient in story nuance and pacing, it compensates for in dazzling visuals. Using rotoscoping, in which animation is traced over live-action footage, the feature produces remarkably precise sprinting scenes. The bodily strain of a race is visibly evident, and the pain and the joy of rivalry are engraved on the protagonists’ forms.

Memorable Moments

One especially significant race ends in the downpour, with sheets of charcoal lines that engulf the screen. More than any dialogue, these displays of creative mastery encapsulate the quasi-enlightened elation the film aims to evoke.

100 Meters is released in Britain from November 16.