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Much has been recorded about the act of running, a healing activity with ability for emotional liberation. Within the context of competitive games, yet, the pressure of contests can make people lose sight of this primary objective. Adapted from the eponymous manga, Kenji Iwaisawa’s mesmerising anime transcends trophies and medals to examine the existential drive that spurs an competitor’s aspiration.

Plot Overview

The 100-Meter Film traces Togashi and Komiya, childhood friends whose life paths separate when they turn professional. Once the quickest elementary student in Japan, Togashi guides the less confident Komiya with the basics. As the duo enter their adolescence and adulthood, Komiya consistently improves up the leaderboard of elite competitors, while Togashi is mired in a rut; both battle worries and uncertainties. Spanning more than 15 years, the tale follows their psychological barriers, exposing the struggles of an athlete’s life, caught in a pattern of media attention, achievement demands and sponsorship demands.

Visual Highlights

Perhaps it’s because of the base story, but the film’s response to these complicated problems is somewhat facile; time and time again, a protagonist’s uncertainties just vanish after a prolonged talk with a peer or a senior. But what the film lacks in narrative subtlety and pacing, it makes up for in stunning imagery. Employing rotoscoping, in which cartooning is traced over real-life video, the movie creates stunningly detailed running sequences. The physical exertion of a sprint is visibly evident, and the pain and the joy of rivalry are etched on the athletes’ physiques.

Impactful Sequences

One notably pivotal race concludes in the rain, with sheets of monochrome brushwork that engulf the scene. More than any dialogue, these displays of artistic excellence embody the almost spiritual high the animation aims to inspire.

100 Meters is showing in the United Kingdom from the 16th of November.