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A great deal has been documented about the art of running, a restorative movement with ability for emotional liberation. Within the context of professional sports, however, the strain of contests can lead athletes to forget of this primary objective. Adapted from the same-named comic, Kenji Iwaisawa’s enthralling anime looks beyond prizes and accolades to examine the inner motivation that spurs an athlete’s ambition.

Plot Overview

100 Meters chronicles Togashi and Komiya, youth companions whose personal journeys diverge when they enter elite competition. Once the speediest young pupil in Japan, Togashi helps the less confident Komiya with the fundamentals. As the twosome move through their adolescence and adulthood, Komiya progressively advances up the leaderboard of top athletes, while Togashi is stuck in a slump; both struggle with anxieties and insecurities. Encompassing more than 15 years, the tale follows their internal hurdles, exposing the difficulties of an athlete’s life, locked in a cycle of media attention, performance expectations and endorsement requirements.

Visual Highlights

Maybe it’s down to the original work, but the animation’s answer to these complex dilemmas is rather superficial; repeatedly, a lead’s mental struggles simply disappear after a lengthy conversation with a colleague or elder. But what the anime falls short in story nuance and tempo, it makes up for in dazzling visuals. Utilizing trace-over animation, in which animation is superimposed on real-life video, the movie produces remarkably precise running sequences. The athletic effort of a dash is visibly evident, and the struggle and triumph of competition are engraved on the protagonists’ forms.

Memorable Moments

One notably pivotal race finishes in the storm, with torrents of grey strokes that engulf the scene. Apart from conversation, these bursts of creative mastery encapsulate the near-transcendent euphoria the film aims to inspire.

The Sprint Film is released in Britain from November 16.