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Much has been recorded about the act of running, a therapeutic exercise with capacity for cathartic release. In the sphere of competitive games, though, the stress of rivalry can lead athletes to forget of this fundamental aim. Adapted from the original graphic novel, Kenji Iwaisawa’s enthralling anime looks beyond awards and honors to explore the core impetus that spurs an sports star’s dream.

Plot Overview

The Sprint Story traces Togashi and Komiya, youth companions whose career trajectories separate when they enter elite competition. Once the speediest young pupil in Japan, Togashi guides the less confident Komiya with the basics. As the pair enter their teens and their 20s, Komiya consistently improves up the ranking of top athletes, while Togashi is trapped in a decline; both confront anxieties and insecurities. Covering more than 15 years, the narrative tracks their mental obstacles, laying bare the struggles of an sports professional’s journey, locked in a loop of media attention, achievement demands and endorsement requirements.

Artistic Strengths

Possibly it’s down to the source material, but the animation’s answer to these complicated problems is rather superficial; time and time again, a lead’s mental struggles simply disappear after a lengthy conversation with a fellow athlete or mentor. But what the anime lacks in story nuance and tempo, it compensates for in dazzling visuals. Employing trace-over animation, in which animation is superimposed on filmed sequences, the film produces exquisitely intricate dash moments. The bodily strain of a sprint is on full display, and the suffering and elation of rivalry are etched on the protagonists’ forms.

Memorable Moments

One notably pivotal race ends in the storm, with sheets of grey strokes that engulf the screen. Apart from conversation, these flourishes of stylistic brilliance encapsulate the almost spiritual high the animation aims to provoke.

100 Meters is in UK cinemas from November 16.