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Plenty has been recorded about the practice of running, a therapeutic exercise with capacity for cathartic release. Within the context of elite athletics, yet, the strain of competition can make people lose sight of this primary objective. Reimagined from the original graphic novel, Kenji Iwaisawa’s spellbinding anime looks beyond trophies and medals to examine the core impetus that fuels an sports star’s dream.

Plot Overview

100 Meters chronicles Togashi and Komiya, childhood friends whose life paths diverge when they turn professional. Once the quickest elementary student in Japan, Togashi helps the less self-assured Komiya with the essentials. As the duo enter their adolescence and adulthood, Komiya steadily accelerates up the ranking of top athletes, while Togashi is mired in a rut; both struggle with anxieties and insecurities. Encompassing more than 15 years, the tale documents their psychological barriers, revealing the difficulties of an athlete’s life, trapped in a pattern of media attention, achievement demands and sponsorship demands.

Creative Merits

Possibly it’s due to the source material, but the movie’s approach to these complex dilemmas is somewhat facile; repeatedly, a character’s inner doubts simply disappear after a lengthy conversation with a colleague or elder. But what 100 Meters is deficient in story nuance and rhythm, it compensates for in breathtaking graphics. Using rotoscoping, in which cartooning is traced over real-life video, the feature creates stunningly detailed dash moments. The athletic effort of a dash is on full display, and the struggle and triumph of rivalry are imprinted on the protagonists’ forms.

Memorable Moments

One particularly momentous race concludes in the storm, with torrents of grey strokes that overwhelm the scene. Apart from conversation, these bursts of creative mastery encapsulate the almost spiritual high the movie aims to evoke.

The Sprint Film is showing in the United Kingdom from 16 November.