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Indie producer and distributor GKIDS has boarded “100 Meters” (“Hyakuemu”), the upcoming animated feature from director Kenji Iwaisawa, as a producing partner and North American distributor.
Based on the manga by Uoto, author of “Orb: On the Movements of the Earth”, which also received a recent anime adaptation, “100 Meters” was first announced prior to its work-in-progress session at last year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Following a Sept. 19 release in Japan, GKIDS will release “100 Meters” in North American theaters this October, in original Japanese and a new English version. GKIDS — whose films have earned 13 best animated feature Oscar nominations — is the North American distributor of Oscar winner “The Boy and the Heron” and the Studio Ghibli library.
“100 Meters” follows Togashi, a naturally gifted track star. In sixth grade, he meets Komiya, a transfer student who is full of determination but lacks technique. In teaching him, Togashi gives Komiya a new purpose: to win no matter what. Years pass by, and Togashi and Komiya meet again as rivals on the track and reveal their true selves.
Currently in production at studio Rock’n Roll Mountain, Iwaisawa is joined by character designer and executive animation director Keisuke Kojima and art director Keikankun Yamaguchi. The screenplay is written by Yasuyuki Muto (“Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway,” “Tokyo Revengers”), and the score is composed by Hiroaki Tsutsumi (“Jujutsu Kaisen, “Tokyo Revengers,” “Dr. Stone”). In addition to GKIDS, the project is being produced by Pony Canyon, Tokyo Broadcasting System and Asmik Ace.
Iwaisawa rose to prominence after his 2019 debut film, “ON-GAKU: Our Sound,” an indie that was composed of more than 40,000 hand-drawn frames, using a rotoscoping animation technique. GKIDS distributed “ON-GAKU: Our Sound” in North America, where the film received a best independent animated feature Annie Award nomination.
“I am very excited to be working with GKIDS once again to bring ‘100 Meters’ to a wider audience,” says Iwaisawa. “I feel that this film, which depicts men obsessed with running faster than anyone else, could be a work that resonates with audiences around the world, and I would like to bring you a special cinematic experience.”
GKIDS president David Jesteadt, who also serves as a producer on the film, adds, “Director Iwaisawa has proven once again why sports has continued to be such an ideal lens to view and understand the human spirit. Even in something as simple a 100 meter race, the entire kaleidoscope of human emotion comes into play. I look forward to sharing this new sports classic with audiences soon.”
