GKIDS Announces Kenji Iwaisawa's '100 Meters' In Theaters Nationwide October 12
“100 METERS” (Hyakuemu.)
In Theaters Nationwide October 12
The Annecy Official Selected Feature Film from ON-GAKU: Our Sound Director Kenji Iwaisawa Opens in Los Angeles October 10th with a Nationwide Event Release Beginning October 12th
New Trailer Released
NEW YORK (Thursday, August 28, 2025) – GKIDS, the Academy Award®-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the globe, will release 100 Meters (Hyakuemu.), the upcoming new animated feature film from acclaimed director Kenji Iwaisawa (ON-GAKU: Our Sound) in North America on October 12th. The film will hold a Los Angeles opening starting October 10th, with a nationwide event release to follow on October 12-14th. GKIDS will release 100 Meters in original Japanese and a new English dubbed version. The film will be released domestically in Japan on September 19th.
Based on the beloved manga by Uoto, author of “Orb: On the Movements of the Earth”, which also received a recent anime adaptation, the heart-pounding and exhilarating adaptation of 100 Meters was first announced prior to its sold-out Work-in-Progress session at last year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The film went on to hold its world premiere as an official selection at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Produced at studio Rock 'n' Roll Mountain, Director Iwaisawa is joined by character designer and executive animation director Keisuke Kojima, and art director Keikankun Yamaguchi. The screenplay is written by Yasuyuki Mutō (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 (TBS) and ASMIK Ace.
100 Meters is helmed by director Kenji Iwaisawa, who quickly rose to prominence after his debut film, the deadpan music comedy ON-GAKU: Our Sound. An independent film in production for over seven years, ON-GAKU: Our Sound was composed of over 40,000 hand-drawn frames, using the Rotoscoping animation technique, and went on to receive multiple award nominations including Best Independent Animated Feature at the Annie Awards. GKIDS distributed ON-GAKU: Our Sound in North America, and 100 Meters marks the second collaboration between GKIDS and Kenji Iwaisawa.
100 Meters follows Togashi, a track star who 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, and Togashi and Komiya meet again as rivals on the track and reveal their true selves.
About GKIDS:
GKIDS is the Academy Award-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world. After an astounding 13 Best Animated Feature nominations, the company took home the Oscar in 2024 for Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's acclaimed feature, The Boy and the Heron. The company's previous nominations include The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, The Breadwinner in 2018, Mirai in 2019, Wolfwalkers in 2021, and The Boy and the Heron in 2024. For more than a decade, GKIDS' influence on cinema has redefined the perception of animation as an artistic medium on par with live-action film through its stewardship of the Studio Ghibli catalog and by introducing American audiences to the critically-acclaimed films of other master filmmakers from around the world such as Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai, Belle), Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells, Wolfwalkers), Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine), Makoto Shinkai (Weathering With You), Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner), Alberto Vázquez (Unicorn Wars) and Masaaki Yuasa (INU-OH, The Night is Short Walk On, Girl), among countless others. Also, GKIDS is the founder and host of ANIMATION IS FILM, the annual LA-based film festival which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium to its fullest range of artistic expressions. www.GKIDS.com | @GKIDSFilms
discuss this in the forum |
bookmark/share with:
