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Plenty has been recorded about the act of running, a healing activity with capacity for cathartic release. In the realm of professional sports, however, the pressure of competition can lead athletes to forget of this primary objective. Transposed from the eponymous manga, Kenji Iwaisawa’s enthralling anime goes past trophies and medals to explore the inner motivation that fuels an athlete’s ambition.

Plot Overview

The 100-Meter Film follows Togashi and Komiya, childhood friends whose personal journeys diverge when they go pro. Previously the fastest grade-schooler in Japan, Togashi helps the less confident Komiya with the fundamentals. As the pair enter their adolescence and adulthood, Komiya consistently improves up the leaderboard of elite competitors, while Togashi is trapped in a decline; both struggle with anxieties and insecurities. Spanning more than 15 years, the story tracks their psychological barriers, exposing the struggles of an competitor’s existence, caught in a pattern of public scrutiny, performance expectations and sponsorship demands.

Visual Highlights

Maybe it’s down to the original work, but the movie’s approach to these complicated problems is a bit simplistic; repeatedly, a protagonist’s uncertainties quickly dissolve after a lengthy conversation with a peer or a senior. But what the film is deficient in story nuance and tempo, it makes up for in dazzling visuals. Using trace-over animation, in which cartooning is drawn atop live-action footage, the feature generates remarkably precise sprinting scenes. The physical exertion of a dash is visibly evident, and the pain and the joy of competition are engraved on the characters’ bodies.

Unforgettable Scenes

One especially significant race finishes in the rain, with sheets of grey strokes that overwhelm the scene. Beyond spoken words, these displays of creative mastery capture the near-transcendent euphoria the movie aims to inspire.

The Sprint Film is released in Britain from 16 November.