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Plenty has been documented about the practice of running, a restorative movement with capacity for emotional liberation. In the sphere of professional sports, though, the pressure of contests can make people lose sight of this primary objective. Transposed from the same-named comic, Kenji Iwaisawa’s mesmerising anime transcends awards and honors to investigate the inner motivation that spurs an competitor’s aspiration.

Plot Overview

The Sprint Story traces Togashi and Komiya, youth companions whose personal journeys diverge when they go pro. Previously the speediest young pupil in Japan, Togashi guides the more uncertain Komiya with the essentials. As the twosome move through their teens and their 20s, Komiya steadily accelerates up the standings of top athletes, while Togashi is stuck in a slump; both confront anxieties and insecurities. Covering more than 15 years, the tale tracks their internal hurdles, revealing the challenges of an athlete’s life, caught in a pattern of societal observation, performance expectations and commercial obligations.

Creative Merits

Perhaps it’s down to the source material, but the movie’s approach to these complicated problems is rather superficial; repeatedly, a character’s inner doubts just vanish after a lengthy conversation with a fellow athlete or mentor. But what 100 Meters lacks in plot refinement and pacing, it compensates for in dazzling visuals. Employing rotoscoping, in which cartooning is superimposed on real-life video, the movie produces exquisitely intricate sprinting scenes. The bodily strain of a dash is on full display, and the suffering and elation of competition are imprinted on the protagonists’ forms.

Impactful Sequences

One especially significant race concludes in the downpour, with cascades of charcoal lines that engulf the frame. Apart from conversation, these displays of creative mastery capture the near-transcendent euphoria the movie aims to evoke.

The Sprint Film is released in Britain from November 16.