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Much has been recorded about the practice of running, a healing activity with potential for cathartic release. Within the context of competitive games, yet, the stress of contests can cause individuals to overlook of this fundamental aim. Reimagined from the eponymous manga, Kenji Iwaisawa’s spellbinding anime goes past awards and honors to investigate the existential drive that drives an competitor’s aspiration.

Narrative Summary

The 100-Meter Film chronicles Togashi and Komiya, youth companions whose career trajectories diverge when they enter elite competition. Once the speediest young pupil in Japan, Togashi assists the more uncertain Komiya with the fundamentals. As the pair move through their youth and early maturity, Komiya consistently improves up the standings of premier sportspeople, while Togashi is mired in a rut; both struggle with anxieties and insecurities. Spanning more than 15 years, the tale follows their internal hurdles, laying bare the difficulties of an competitor’s existence, trapped in a cycle of societal observation, result pressures and sponsorship demands.

Visual Highlights

Maybe it’s down to the original work, but the film’s response to these complicated problems is rather superficial; frequently, a protagonist’s uncertainties simply disappear after a prolonged talk with a peer or a senior. But what the film lacks in story nuance and pacing, it redeems itself with in stunning imagery. Using rotoscoping, in which animation is traced over filmed sequences, the feature generates remarkably precise running sequences. The bodily strain of a race is visibly evident, and the suffering and elation of competition are etched on the characters’ bodies.

Impactful Sequences

One particularly momentous race ends in the storm, with cascades of grey strokes that overwhelm the screen. Apart from conversation, these bursts of creative mastery encapsulate the almost spiritual high the film aims to evoke.

100 Meters is in UK cinemas from the 16th of November.