🔗 Share this article

Plenty has been written about the art of running, a therapeutic exercise with potential for emotional liberation. In the realm of elite athletics, yet, the stress of rivalry can lead athletes to forget of this fundamental aim. Reimagined from the same-named comic, Kenji Iwaisawa’s spellbinding anime goes past trophies and medals to explore the core impetus that fuels an athlete’s ambition.

Plot Overview

100 Meters follows Togashi and Komiya, childhood friends whose career trajectories separate when they turn professional. Formerly the fastest grade-schooler in Japan, Togashi assists the more uncertain Komiya with the essentials. As the duo enter their youth and early maturity, Komiya consistently improves up the leaderboard of premier sportspeople, while Togashi is mired in a rut; both struggle with worries and uncertainties. Encompassing more than 15 years, the story follows their psychological barriers, laying bare the struggles of an sports professional’s journey, locked in a pattern of public scrutiny, achievement demands and endorsement requirements.

Artistic Strengths

Possibly it’s down to the original work, but the animation’s answer to these complicated problems is a bit simplistic; repeatedly, a protagonist’s uncertainties simply disappear after a lengthy conversation with a colleague or elder. But what 100 Meters falls short in plot refinement and rhythm, it makes up for in dazzling visuals. Using trace-over animation, in which animation is traced over real-life video, the film produces stunningly detailed sprinting scenes. The physical exertion of a dash is clearly shown, and the struggle and triumph of contests are etched on the athletes’ physiques.

Unforgettable Scenes

One notably pivotal race concludes in the rain, with torrents of charcoal lines that engulf the scene. More than any dialogue, these displays of stylistic brilliance embody the almost spiritual high the film aims to evoke.

The 100-Meter Anime is showing in the United Kingdom from the 16th of November.