Hyakuemu / 100 Meters is the collaboration of two charismatic lead creators emerging in the fields of manga and animated filmmaking. Uoto and Kenji Iwaisawa are different artists, brought together by the illogical, mesmerizing, deeply human passion that fuels this story. Manga artist Uoto loves humanity. That much is already evident in Chi / Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, the work that consolidated him as one of the most interesting emerging voices in the otakusphere. What Uoto can’t help but be fascinated by is folks who know they’ll be branded as heretics and likely killed for their actions, yet feel the urge to continue on this path for self-serving reasons.
While Orb’s anime adaptation was respectable, it also received criticism for compromising on a story about individuals who refuse to do that. At the end of our coverage of that series, we pointed to an upcoming project that could finally marry the recklessness that Uoto is drawn to and a similarly uncompromising approach to animation: Kenji Iwaisawa’s theatrical adaptation of Hyakuemu. In the same way that Uoto has quickly emerged as a mangaka to keep track of, Iwaisawa’s irruption with the release of On-Gaku: Our Sound in 2019 placed him squarely in the spotlight. Understanding Iwaisawa mandates understanding him as an impulsive, obstinate creator who loves marching ahead once he’s had an idea.
As he has discussed in various interviews, Iwaisawa was a pupil of late cult film icon Teruo Ishii. Though he didn’t learn specific filmmaking mechanics from Ishii, his mentor's laid-back attitude and view of collaborative filmmaking left a lasting mark. When Iwaisawa attempted to make live-action films, he realized he didn't enjoy the process. Seeking an alternative, he combined his filmmaking desires with his childhood dream of becoming a mangaka. Without formal drawing training, he recorded real actors and drew over them—unknowingly diving into the long history of rotoscoping. This trial-and-error method birthed On-Gaku and laid the groundwork for his unique animation philosophy.
Given their parallel rises as critical darlings, it’s no surprise Uoto and Iwaisawa crossed paths. While Uoto was initially unfamiliar with Iwaisawa's work, he quickly fell in love with the director's expression power after watching On-Gaku. Iwaisawa, meanwhile, was already an outright fan of Orb. When Pony Canyon producer Yusuke Terada approached Iwaisawa in July 2021 with a pitch to adapt Hyakuemu, the director eagerly accepted. Despite their contrasting personalities—Uoto being wise and articulate, while Iwaisawa is driven purely by impulse and momentum—their core fascination with human behavior aligned perfectly.
To handle the production demands of Hyakuemu without relying on traditional studios whose pipelines clashed with his unorthodox methods, Iwaisawa turned his personal company Rock’n Roll Mountain into a fully fledged animation studio. He recruited a mix of complete newcomers, independent artists from On-Gaku, and industry veterans like character designer Keisuke Kojima. Kojima’s calculated approach and use of tools like Clip Studio Paint helped enable creativity rather than suffocate it, allowing Iwaisawa to maintain the reckless freedom of his independent efforts.
The workflow for Hyakuemu was as unique as its director. Starting with storyboards closer to live-action blocking, Iwaisawa heavily edited footage to obsess over timing and rhythm. Sequences were sent to Kojima for scene roughs—drawing roughly 1 in 10 frames over live-action footage—before key animators began rotoscoping. However, the film doesn't rely solely on rotoscoping. Recognizing that filming real athletes had limitations, the team utilized 3D models and freehand drawing, alongside a gorgeous opening sequence directed by independent artist Ryoji Yamada and a childhood arc completely free of rotoscoping.
At its heart, Hyakuemu explores the mesmerizing psychology of athletes like Togashi, a prodigy hooked on unquestionable victory, and Komiya, a gloomy loner who uses the physical anguish of running to blur his suffocating reality. Alongside characters like Nigami, Zaitsu, Tsuneda, and Kaido, the narrative builds toward the high school nationals—highlighted by a breathtaking, historically ambitious 3-minute 40-second uninterrupted camera shot traversing the stadium before the race.
Ultimately, Hyakuemu achieves what both Uoto and Iwaisawa set out to do: capture the alluring madness of humanity. Different fields, entirely unlike personalities, yet facing the exact same direction to deliver a cinematic masterpiece.
