Spoilers Towards The End Where The Reviews Meat Lies. 100 Meters is a masterclass in many things most notably rotoscoping and its deepforitsruntime dive into the psychology behind passion and competitiveness. Production: 10/10 Kenji Iwaisawa really pushed the boundaries of his style of animation and artistic vision with this movie rotoscoping was always viewed as this limited technology if not directly then by how its only used in a limited variety of scenes where it works best. Iwaisawa saw an opportunity in this grounded work to use rotoscoping so much itd be absurd if not for how fantastic it came out and went on to make honestly THE single most impressive rotoscoped scene I have ever seen and also one of the most impressive animated scenes in general. genuinely interested if anyone saw rotoscoping done any better Voice acting was really good as expected of all the Seiyuus Wonderful soundtrack with a running version too. very well paced cant say on the adaptation since I havent read the manga but the final products full of signs pointing at its excellence. Plot: N/A Uoto Uoto Uoto .. With all eyes on him after Orb: On the Movements of the Earthhttps://anilist.co/anime/151514/OrbOntheMovementsoftheEarth/ he not only did not fail the expectations set on this new piece of work but he managed to leave a touch of his philosophy and his writing style from Orb. Theres not much to say on the plot it uses some cliches well to help deliver its message in a limited runtime and the actual story is what youd expect it follows the Career of a bunch of people as they run the 100meter race with more on the line than just medals .. more on that in the next section. Characters: 15/10 The real reason I wanted to write the review is here any small grip or nitpick that I had or anything that went against my preference are all triumphed by the characters. But I admit calling this section characters is misleading characters while they serve as characters with their own motives and way they go about them are really just there to carve the messages of the movie IN. The Spoiler Part Of The Review Togashi: We first see Togashi sweeping the races at his school and learnt that hes the talented type his body just knows the correct running form he has good balance and he shifts his weight correctly so with some good running technique hes unbeatable at school but his biggest struggle is his gift itself. Running the 100m faster than anyone else can solve almost anything. this didnt make sense to Komiya at first but Togashi really meant it. As gifted kids go he relies too much on his success for his life to go on hes popular because he runs faster than anyone else he wins medals and gets recognition because he runs faster than anyone else he gets approval from seniors and even goes on TV because he runs faster than anyone else. For what reason do you run ? The questions he goes around asking other people. Youre misusing running for such a dumb reason. if running is a sport to set records or to chill out for others for him it was the pillar his life was built upon he doesnt KNOW what lifes like NOT running faster than anyone thats why as he grew up and noticed the bar for other runners go up while he doesnt improve much he feared running anymore. Togashi doesnt join a running powerhouse school and doesnt join the track and field club he fears going second as much as he fears death itself as theyre one and the same to the life hes leading. 50 times when Togashi decides to go back to running its not out of overcoming any fear all he says is simply Sprinting all out like that again reminded me of something that Im damn fast he didnt overcome his fear by that point only started thinking hes invincible again so he gave running another shot .. if for the wrong reason Togashi your running style changed The last words words he heard as his biggest fear he came heavy rain pouring down washing down all colors washing out all thought drowning out all background noise and the crowds cheer. Then 10 years later here he is living in a delusion a delusion with a promise. Im doing just enough to get by he thinks that by never giving it his all again he can keep thinking I wouldve if I tried and Ive got better I just dont care that much .. etc Thats until he meets Kaidou Running with your eyes open and standing still with your eyes closed differ looking straight into reality is terrifying you see. you must accept things you hate but if you want to change reality or negate it you must face it first as soon as you close your eyes youll stop moving for good hed been escaping reality the wrong way all this time now he knows that giving it your all every time fully recognizing the odds and crowd arent on your side but always thinking youre gonna win next time now thats a way to live not just survive he found his reason for running However none of those can strip the sheer joy that we feel when were giving our all. Komiya: We first see Komiya as this sluggish runner slower than everyone else terrible balance no explosive start and no reason for running at all. reality gets blurred when I do something more painful was all this was to him yet he gave it his all what he had for him is a competitive spirit beyond all once he tasted victory once he was addicted. I think you wouldve won the race While Togashi still feared defeat and feared racing Nikami all Komiya could think of was how Togashi could beat his senior no feat was impossible and no record was set in stone to him I want to be a national record holder. Being faster than someone was not it anymore he had to be the fastest full stop hed keep eating himself till he gets there to prove his worth by being the absolute best at something with a definitive metric no less. Theres only one reason why you can run at such speed its your willpower Thats a red flag. A runner who can remove their limiter via emotion has no brakes Even if they attain momentary glory theyll keep running till they crash. perhaps the most honest life advice he got and sure enough. My record was beaten by someone who doesnt care about records .. Even if I set a new record again whats waiting for me beyond that? What the hell are we running for? Komiya was so focused on the results he forgot the joy of running the track even claiming to have never seen or experiencing it thats when he gets his flame ignited again by Togashi .. a simply invitation to feel the joy of giving something your all no matter the reality nor outcome. Zaitsu: The faster I go the more everyone falls behind when I look beside me theres no one there the view from that position is the same as that from last place. Zaitsu felt like he grew up isolated he had to uphold the record his dad held and he was good at doing just that but he hated that he was exceptional he had no one to compete with maybe he wasnt even that passionate about running whichever came first the chicken or the egg. But it always seems like to him track and field is a chore sprinting is like taking over his dads shop for him people treat him well but not how youd treat a normal person Did they treat you well ? Is coffee good ? and a fancy introduction when he goes on TV or on stage. At the end he couldnt find company even amongst prorunners in turn he couldnt run as fast and ended up quitting Yet still he realizes the effect the 100m has on people the euphoria that only running this distance allows and the package of emotions you feel in the 10 seconds you give your all for he knows what people run for. But life on edge to hold a record for as long as possible a life constantly in the spotlights a life competing with no one but yourself like a dog chasing its tail endlessly he was done with that kind of life. Kaidou: Kaidou is the relatively ordinary guy hes talented and hes sure he is yet he could never get the spotlight for it he doesnt hold a record doesnt have a dad who went pro he doesnt even have the willpower thatd straight up injure him for a moment of glory. constantly fighting an uphill battle yet he ran as fast as he could and eventually faster than anyone cause he had what he needed the most mentality that led to perseverance the most important thing is that he never stopped hed always smile at reality and oneup his best. he simply had a reason to run and it was the most solid of them all the one he passed on to Togashi and Togashi passed on to Komiya. . And now theyre all running towards the finish line there can only be one winner and that matters so much yet it doesnt. its so important here that we dont see who wins only those 10 seconds. Afterall winning the race is only there to make giving your all if only just for those 10 seconds putting everything you have on the line risking anything youd lose if youre outperformed having everything to gain if you win all of that is just there to make the euphoria of running all the more worthwhile. Those 100 meters where your life is condensed are the biggest joy and greatest honor one could have enough to die for yet enough to live for.