I Didn't Like 100 Meters

To preface, I'm not saying it's bad, I'm not looking to change anybody's mind if they enjoyed it, and I'm not trying to be maliciously controversial. I'm just genuinely surprised by the amount of praise it receives.

I'll get through the small things first. I don't have a problem with the ending at all. However, I will admit I am NOT a fan of the animation. The art style isn't exactly for me, but that's not a huge factor personally. I actually liked the still frames, and disliked the animation. I watched feet sliding across the ground, sliding faces, and sloppy foregrounds. Some scenes I actually really enjoyed the fluidity of the style (and the creative visuals), but I felt it was inconsistent in quality.

Now, onto the story, what matters more. I agree with the message it's sending, I just don't think they executed it well. To me, the characters personalities and accomplishments felt unnatural. The dialogue and character dynamics felt forced, and the narrative was shaped to make the story fit the ideals of its message and give a happy ending. Not to mention the pacing felt jarring and inconsistent, personally.

All in all, its not bad. I won't go on to say "it should have done this or that instead," or say that its missing something. I simply think it wasn't executed as well as it could've. Though, I found it strange that nobody has any criticism for it, and people who do criticize it get shunned to oblivion. (I will say I've seen some bad takes on this film.)

I'm 100% ashamed to admit I watched it in dub (I watched it with friends), maybe its worth a rewatch? Maybe I'm missing something? If you'd like, please let me know.

or was the dub just really that bad lol

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Commentaires

Intelligent_Fail34222026-01-15 12:06

Lowkey i get it. the art style is a whole vibe but if the story doesn't grab u it’s hard to stay locked in. u’ve gotta have more than just pretty visuals to make a masterpiece.

TheNobleMushroom2026-01-15 12:17

I was a sprinter in high school. Took it very seriously and broke the regional hurdles record as well in my final year. And sad to say, I didn't like the movie at all. And yes, I watched it in sub.

Idk but I think a lot of the praise is coming from YouTube click bait that hasn't had a really solid sports series, yet alone a movie, in a while. And if you think about some of the true greats of sports anime, they're all fairly old shows. So it feels like many content creators just quickly jumped on the bandwagon.

To that previous point, I DO think 100 Meters makes for a great YouTube discussion video where you only have to show snippets of the movie. Because it is a 100 meter SPRINT after all. One way or another that's going to be over in 10 seconds. It doesn't make for a great movie unless you throw some other plot point into it.

Which is where all the philosophical narratives come on. Now, me personally, this felt more like a philosophy story told through the lens of athletes rather than a sports anime. But that creates a disconnect with the audience because of the expectation of a thrilling, heart pounding, sporty viewing experience. To make a point of comparison, when watching Haikyuu I've genuinely had moments where I've been panting myself because I was holding my breath during high tension scenes when a make-or-break play happens. But there was none of that in 100 Meters. But at the same time, the characters just feel so devoid of purpose. So trying to tell this philosophical narrative through them also feels wrong.

My summary or lingering feelings was that the characters themselves don't care about the story. And in turn, as a viewer, I was struggling to feel the same.

XerGR2026-01-15 12:26

Never will understand why we are making 25 trillion demon slayer clones but nobody just uses the most basic ass sports formula every banger series tends to use and love.

Like haikyuu is not at all different than 99% of the old kings of sports anime yet it’s pure gas. Sometimes i feel like studios forget cool sports shit is the second easiest thing to sell after fighting

Xanderdoom_2026-01-15 13:15

Yeah its more about the philosphy, the actual race itself didn't matter and thats the point, still very clearly a sports anime

don't get me wrong it's not for you and thats fine, everyone has their preferences but you're just yapping atp

TheNobleMushroom2026-01-15 20:38

You clearly didn't read what I said. I guess comprehension skills just isn't for you, and that's fine.

Nettysocks2026-01-15 12:21

The only thing i didnt like about the dub was the child voices, past that it was pretty great.

While i did enjoy it and would reccomend it to most people, i went into the movie being tald and hammered into me that it would be my anime of the year and even better than Orb, so my expectations were a bit off kilter for how i felt about it by the end.

Though i didnt think it was a near Goat experiance, i still went away thinking it was a great anime movie.

princefloof2026-01-15 15:30

the child VAs were the exact thing i was thinking of when i wrote the post lol

Nettysocks2026-01-15 15:34

It was off putting and my partner had the same thought and we almost switched to sub just for the start but then the time skip happened and the rest of it ended up being more on par to what I was expecting.

Yeah I haven’t enjoyed many or any child voice actors in anime, I lean more on adults doing a child’s voice more so at the moment

XerGR2026-01-15 12:24

In general i don’t like the orb style character designs but thats just a style but i this weird rotoscope animation is REALLY not my thing. Especially when they don’t commit to the weirdness.

When we had the first timeskip it was weird but i thought they’ll go all in on the roto style but then randomly they went back and forth with “proper”/“traditional” animation

I still gave it an 8.5 tho. Always respect trying and love when studioes are given free reign to just do shit

Edit; the main gripe tbh is the last third of the movie where we get introduced to random characters, you don’t get any good context and also that one dude who looks 60 yet is supposedly around the 35 mark

ImpressivePipe73792026-01-15 12:25

Thank you! I am baffled that people praise it that much, even have it in their Top 5 Anime Movies.

I did like the animation, but to me, the story did not feel special. Especially the ending I could smell from 100 meters away (pun intended), I feel like i’ve seen an ending like this often before.

Generally, some content creators just praise new shows and movies way too much, probably because they need to talk about new stuff to stay relevant, but it’s getting to a point where I don’t trust a lot of people’s opinions because for them every new anime is just soooo good.

Xanderdoom_2026-01-15 13:18

I didnt even like the animation, its offputting for me but this was such a good movie. completely deserves its high ratings, I am not suprised in the slightest theres people who are talking about how bad/overrated it is, this is the internet but neither should you, just because you don't like something you cannot comprehend other peoples viewpoints?

saveriz2026-01-15 13:45

Bro, everyone has their own opinion. You dislike it, it's ok. What on Earth makes you think that others can't have it in their top 5? It's hilarious bro, you made me laugh so hard. Learn how to respect others' opinions.

DistributionHour15802026-01-15 12:38

>characters personalities and accomplishments felt unnatural. The dialogue and character dynamics felt forced, and the narrative was shaped to make the story fit the ideals of its message

I rated the movie a 4/10. The Orb author is a hack. I’ve been saying this forever. He can’t write characters. They’re just walking ideas, not actual people. Even Japanese TikTok accounts are calling the movie out for its **preachy, mediocre dialogue**, and I couldn’t agree more. People should rate shows on their merits, not the author’s reputation because 8.37 on MAL is ridiculous.

Go watch Run with the Wind or Blue Giant or something. Those are actually worth your time.

princefloof2026-01-15 15:34

i actually enjoyed Ping Pong: The Animation for the fact that it doesnt try to demonize or glorify any character, their motivations, or whether theyre good or not at the sport. i found it genuine, and lets the viewer have that same unbiased perspective to show a similar message of 100 Meters, tastefully. i looove ppta 😁

Salty1452026-01-18 07:09

Honestly…

I mean I liked it, but didn’t love it like I wanted to. I think I was hoping for a new *Ping Pong* and the lyrics of the ending by song play on loop in my head. But in a way, it feels like Official HIGE DANdism understood the assignment more than the show itself.

I’ll take a different approach to most and say I don’t think the movie was preachy enough. I like me a nice meaty thematic discussion of a theme, especially one so close to me as sports and the nature of competition. Yet I feel like *100 Meters* spent too much time setting up the next beat instead of exploring those themes and the nature of the cut-up adaptation leads to a lot of a characters getting a lot of screen time and then just dropped.

Ultimately, I enjoyed it, and will take it again over more isekai slop, but it’s not my favorite of all time by a mile and that’s kind of unfortunate.