100 METERS

I watched this because I saw a random clip on instagram. Didn’t expect much but this is a genuine masterpiece. The lack of a true protagonist creates for a truly competitive air as you’re never certain who will win what race. The relationship between the two main characters is built upon rivalry, each pushing each other to new heights. It wasn’t only the characters and inter relations that created intense emotional tension, the choice to rotoscope 100% of the animation allowed such nuanced movements and facial expression in a medium built upon simplicity. We never really find out who the better runner is. Each character represents a unique archetype in respect to their ability. On one hand you have innate talent, born with speed he has always been fastest, this later leads to a complacency that nearly ruins his career. On the other hand we have a runt, shorter, slower, and weaker than his peers he hungers to be great, pushing his body beyond its limits in order to reach what many consider a vain and valueless finish line eventually reaching the heights of his naturally gifted peers and presumably surpassing them. This dichotomy of innate vs acquired ability acts as two parallel lines laid in opposing directions. The animation was perfectly flawed. They chose to rotoscope everything and in doing so they traded the smooth sharp lines usually associated with Japanese animation for more articulated and fluid movement and expression. In rotoscoping they were able to fully convey the complex mechanics behind the human body in both subtle and explosive fashions. When characters faced heightened emotions the lines defining them would begin to warp, break, stretch or vanish each expressing a different feeling. Last thing I wanted to mention was the dialogue. The writers managed to infuse such passion into the dialogue of certain scenes while avoiding the usual cornball bullshit I’ve come to expect from anime. Every word spoken is grounded by desired with immense weight behind it. There is no limit to a man seeking greatness. REAL BADMAN💥