Info in Movie News | Netflix is finishing the year with a major win in the anime streaming war by officially adding 100 Meters to its worldwide library on December 31. As a matter of fact, the year 2025 has been largely taken over by the anime blockbusters of massive scale such as Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man The Movie: The Reze Arc. However, this less noisy but equally critically praised sports movie has managed to shine its own light due to its down-to-earth storytelling, daring animation aspects, and emotionally charged characters.
According to ComicBook, The plot of 100 Meters is focused on the characters Togashi and Komiya whose competition timing back to their elementary school days and later, it became the main theme of their athletic careers. Togashi is introduced as an effortless prodigy, a runner who wins every 100 meter dash with mechanical precision and almost no emotional fulfillment. Komiya, on the other hand, is driven entirely by determination. His technique is unrefined, his shoes are shabby, and he only discovers a reason after Togashi instructs him in the basics of sprinting. Eventually, their relationship becomes like the waves of the sea - up, down, and back up again, as they encounter each other not only later in life but as runners toiling for the same final point.
The movie premiered in Japan on September 19 and quickly built a wave of praise. It earned a 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 92% audience score, a rarity for a sports anime movie that leans into character psychology rather than flashy spectacle. Although its North American theater run was short and limited, screenings during festivals like Annecy, the Japan Society event in New York, and GKIDS’ curated showings helped build strong international buzz.
What sets 100 Meters apart, among other things, is the direction of Kenji Iwaisawa, who made a buzz with his underground On-Gaku: Our Sound. Whereas his previous movie was a raw punk-style, 100 Meters is more of a sophisticated and cinematic piece. Iwaisawa is very much dependent on rotoscoping, a method in which the animators follow the live-action shots to achieve smooth and lifelike movements. Since the movie is about speed, technology, and sprinting at the fastest, this method was a must. The director went so far as to dissect the athlete footage frame by frame to spot the tiny differences between casual running and sprinting at an elite level.
The movie character designer and chief animation director Keisuke Kojima combines the visuals which look like they blended directly from the worker’s hand but kept kay realistic. The climax rain-soaked race shot as a continuous tracking sequence is one of the movie’s moments that have generated the most talk. Using desaturated colors, shiny surfaces, and the loudness of the bodies, for the most part, the scene has been referred to by the reviewers as one of the strongest cinematic moments of anime of the year.
The movie that is a product of Rock ‘n’ Roll Mountain with Pony Canyon, TBS TV, and ASMIK Ace as its partners, features a script by Yasuyuki Muto, the author of Tokyo Revengers. The movie score is by Hiroaki Tsutsumi, who was also the composer for Jujutsu Kaisen and Dr. Stone. The movie also boasts a strong voice cast, with Tori Matsuzaka as Togashi and Shota Sometani as Komiya, supported by industry favorites like Koki Uchiyama, Kenjiro Tsuda, Rie Takahashi, and Aoi Yuki.
Another major highlight is the theme song “Rashisa” performed by Official HiGE DANdism, which adds emotional texture to the movie’s final act. 100 Meters, through its performances, art direction, and narrative structure, has been described as a character study revolving around failure, identity, and the price of ambition, besides being just a sports story.
Along with its Netflix debut, 100 Meters is going worldwide where it can be considered for various awards. The movie is included in the Academy's list of 35 qualifying movies for the Best Animated Feature category at the 2026 Oscars, which indicates that the movie industry sees it as a strong contender close to the giants like Demon Slayer even though it has made less noise commercially.
If there are any viewers who prefer a down-to-earth, intense story driven by the characters' development rather than a supernatural fight or a huge spectacle, then 100 Meters is definitely a powerful and unforgettable experience that they can expect.
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