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GKIDS to Screen Kenji Iwaisawa's 100 Meters Film in N. American Theaters in October
posted on by Alex Mateo
GKIDS announced on Monday that it has acquired the anime film of Uoto's 100 Meters (Hyakuemu) manga, and will screen the movie in North American theaters this October. The company streamed an English-subtitled version of a trailer unveiled earlier on Monday:
Tori Matsuzaka plays the gifted runner Togashi, while Shōta Sometani plays Komiya, a hard worker whose obsession with the 100-meter dash began when he met Togashi.
Kenji Iwaisawa (ON-GAKU: Our Sound) is directing the film at Rock 'n' Roll Mountain. Pony Canyon, TBS TV, and ASMIK Ace are credited with production. Yasuyuki Mutō (Tokyo Revengers) is writing the script. Keisuke Kojima is the character designer and chief animation director, and Keikankun Yamaguchi is the art director. Producers include Yūsuke Terada, Yūki Katayama, and Akane Taketsugu. Hiroaki Tsutsumi is composing the music for the film.
A preview of the film screened at last year's Annecy International Film Festival in June as part of the festival's Work in Progress lineup. The festival described the story:
Togashi is born to run. As a kid, he is naturally gifted and wins every 100-meter race without effort. But 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, Togashi and Komiya meet again as rivals on the track and reveal their true selves.
Uoto (Orb: On the Movements of the Earth) launched the Hyakuemu manga in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app in November 2018 as Uoto's first series, and Kodansha published the manga's third compiled book volume in August 2019.
Iwaisawa previously directed ON-GAKU: Our Sound, an adaptation of Hiroyuki Ohashi's "ON-GAKU" manga. Ohashi announced the film project in 2012, and launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Makuake website in July 2018. The film opened in Japan in January 2020. GKIDS screened the film in theaters in North America in December 2020, and then released the film on home video in March 2021.
