🔗 Share this article

Plenty has been documented about the art of running, a restorative movement with capacity for emotional liberation. Within the context of elite athletics, yet, the pressure of rivalry can lead athletes to forget of this ultimate goal. Reimagined from the same-named comic, Kenji Iwaisawa’s mesmerising anime looks beyond awards and honors to examine the existential drive that fuels an competitor’s aspiration.

Plot Overview

The Sprint Story follows Togashi and Komiya, early-life buddies whose career trajectories separate when they enter elite competition. Previously the quickest elementary student in Japan, Togashi assists the more uncertain Komiya with the basics. As the duo enter their teens and their 20s, Komiya steadily accelerates up the leaderboard of premier sportspeople, while Togashi is mired in a rut; both confront fears and doubts. Covering more than 15 years, the narrative follows their psychological barriers, laying bare the challenges of an sports professional’s journey, locked in a loop of public scrutiny, result pressures and sponsorship demands.

Visual Highlights

Perhaps it’s because of the original work, but the movie’s approach to these complex dilemmas is rather superficial; repeatedly, a lead’s mental struggles just vanish after a extended discussion with a colleague or elder. But what the anime lacks in narrative subtlety and pacing, it compensates for in breathtaking graphics. Utilizing trace-over animation, in which drawn art is drawn atop real-life video, the film creates stunningly detailed dash moments. The bodily strain of a race is on full display, and the pain and the joy of competition are etched on the athletes’ physiques.

Impactful Sequences

One particularly momentous race finishes in the downpour, with sheets of grey strokes that engulf the scene. Beyond spoken words, these displays of stylistic brilliance capture the near-transcendent euphoria the animation aims to evoke.

The Sprint Film is in UK cinemas from the 16th of November.