Netflix’s 100 Meters follows two rivals racing to be Japan’s fastest

Polygon reports that Netflix’s anime film 100 Meters, which opened theatrically in Japan in September, landed on Netflix at the end of December and has remained in the service’s top 10 non-English movies; the film is streaming exclusively on Netflix. The movie follows Togashi, once Japan’s fastest grade-schooler, and Komiya, a troubled newcomer who later becomes his chief rival in the 100-meter dash.

Covering roughly 15 years, the film tracks their coming-of-age into adulthood and frames their competition as a kind of radical intimacy shaped by isolation rather than romance. Visually it mixes quiet pastoral scenes with explosive race sequences and makes use of rotoscoping for a more realistic feel. The soundtrack shifts from gentle melodies to pulse-pounding beats, and Netflix has noted on social media that the brassy main theme uses a “baton” metaphor — musicians must trade breath like runners passing a baton to keep the melody going. Netflix also offers an English dub option.

The movie stresses that being exceptional in a sport with short careers and frequent injury is less about records than the people you race against; a veteran pro in the film warns that becoming the undisputed champion can feel empty. Komiya’s traumatic past is suggested but not fully revealed, and the rivalry concludes when the characters are in their 20s. 100 Meters is available to stream exclusively on Netflix.

Key Topics

Culture, Togashi, Komiya, Japan, Rotoscoping