🔗 Share this article

A great deal has been recorded about the art of running, a healing activity with capacity for cathartic release. In the realm of competitive games, yet, the strain of rivalry can make people lose sight of this fundamental aim. Reimagined from the eponymous manga, Kenji Iwaisawa’s mesmerising anime goes past prizes and accolades to investigate the inner motivation that spurs an sports star’s dream.

Story Synopsis

100 Meters chronicles Togashi and Komiya, early-life buddies whose personal journeys separate when they turn professional. Once the fastest grade-schooler in Japan, Togashi guides the more uncertain Komiya with the basics. As the twosome move through their adolescence and adulthood, Komiya consistently improves up the standings of elite competitors, while Togashi is trapped in a decline; both confront worries and uncertainties. Spanning more than 15 years, the narrative follows their psychological barriers, laying bare the difficulties of an athlete’s life, caught in a cycle of societal observation, result pressures and commercial obligations.

Visual Highlights

Perhaps it’s because of the base story, but the movie’s approach to these complicated problems is rather superficial; frequently, a character’s inner doubts just vanish after a lengthy conversation with a fellow athlete or mentor. But what the anime lacks in narrative subtlety and rhythm, it makes up for in stunning imagery. Utilizing rotoscoping, in which drawn art is superimposed on real-life video, the film generates remarkably precise dash moments. The bodily strain of a sprint is on full display, and the pain and the joy of contests are imprinted on the characters’ bodies.

Unforgettable Scenes

One especially significant race ends in the rain, with cascades of grey strokes that engulf the screen. Beyond spoken words, these flourishes of stylistic brilliance encapsulate the near-transcendent euphoria the movie aims to evoke.

100 Meters is released in Britain from November 16.