Taiyou no Ko Esteban

"Children of the sun, See your time has just begun, Searching for your way, Through adventures every day" For many of us older fans, especially those of us who were kids back in the early 80s, these opening lines represented half an hour of pure, almost magical, adventure, the likes of which we hadn't had access to on a regular basis. I was one of the many, many children who would run home from school, throw my bag on the floor, turn on the TV, and be transported to South America in 1532 for a while. The Mysterious Cities of Gold was, to myself and many others, the show that got us hooked on a type of cartoon that we would ultimately know as anime. No longer would I be satisfied with the violent antics of mouse, cat, canary, rabbit, or bald hunter et al. Nevermore would the yappings of an overgrown mutt and his hippy companions satisfy my need for mystery. Outcast were the incessant wranglings of families both past and future. This anime effectively reshaped my concept of what made a good cartoon, and it's effects on myself and others has been lasting. Okay, intro over, lets get to the nitty gritty. The MYsterious Cities of Gold (or MCoG as it seems to be known now), is one of those rare gems that only come around once every few years. The story was written byJean Chalopin and Bernard Deyriès, and is very loosely based on the novel "The King's Fifth" by Scott O'Dell. Some of you may recognise the name of Jean Chalopin as the creative genius who also brought us Ulysses 31, Inspector Gadget, Pole Position, Rainbow Brite, M.A.S.K., Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, and a number of other cartoons. MCoG is considered to be his greatest work, seconded only by Ulysses 31. The series is about a young spanish boy named Esteban, an orphan boy who was rescued at sea, and is now considered to be the "Child of the Sun" by the people of Barcelona. He joins the Spanish exploration of the "New World" in an effort to find the Seven Cities of Gold and, hopefully, his father. On his travels he meets two other children, Zia and Tau, who accompany him on his journey. I'm going to stop there as even though the series is 39 episodes long, this is an adventure that shouldn't really be spoiled in any way. The plot and pacing in almost every episode is, quite simply, astounding. The depth of the story, and the skill with which Jean Chalopin and Bernard Deyriès have written each episode, has resulted in a series that has almost no filler, and that drives the story forward with almost every episode. Only a few series can make a similar claim and, sadly, only a very few of those are from the last few years. Given that the series is as old as it is there are many out there who will be put off by the fact that the character designs appear dated, and that the animation isn't as smooth as todays standards. That said, the show is still very well done, and although it very clearly shows its age in many places, these are nowhere near enough to deter one from what is a captivating story. One area where the series excels, even by todays standards, is in it's creative, and sometimes inspired, music. When watching this show one should keep an ear open for the differences in thematic music, especially with regards to each character. The music throughout the series reflects the South American (more Peruvian than Brazilian though), and Spanish themes upon which the story is based, and although much of it was done using synthesizers, the effect is still laudable for the little touches of authenticity the music brings to each character or scene. In addition to the thematic music, the OP is one of the catchiest in anime, and it may come as a surprise when you find yourself whistling or humming it for days after. The dubs are both very good as well. There are critics of the English dub, however I feel that this is unjustified. The English dub was far more ambitious than most people realise as, rather than simply enacting a "literal" translation, the actors were encouraged to add their own depth and vitality to each role. This is why the English dub is sometimes very different to what appears in the Japanese dub, even though the characters are still, effectively, saying the same things. Many viewers who become hooked on the show will remember the giant golden condor, the submarine, or even Kokapetl (the parrot), however all will tell you that the reason they kept watching was because of the characters. MCoG has several key characters, with the main ones being Esteban, Zia, Tau and Mendoza. Add to them Mendoza's bumbling mercenaries Sancho and Pedro, Pizarro, Gaspard, Gomez, and a whole host of other characters, many of whom appear only sporadically, and you have quite a large list to go through. It would be very easy for a series to get lost in the wealth of it's characters, however MCoG not only avoids this, but pulls off some of the most amazing development of both on and off screen characters that can be seen in anime. Esteban, Zia and Tau are literally driven to develop as characters, with Esteban in particular being forced to make some tough choices. One would think this means the show waxes melodramatic, yet the series never really slips into this, and manages to test the characters in ways not seen in anime or cartoons at the time. Even now, there are very few shows that will force the characters to think and act, rather than react and/or use strength and willpower alone. Possibly the real star of the show though, is Mendoza. The Spaniard is an expert sailor and navigator, and is more than skilled with a sword. He is also very much a strategist, and there are numerous occasions when he thinks his way out of situations. Not only that, when he is off screen the viewer has an absolute certainty that he is not resting on his laurels, but is planning or acting somewhere to achieve his sometimes ambiguous goals. Anime in the 80s had not seen a character like him before, and this type of characterisation is still a rarity. The most recent example of a character of Mendoza's type that I can think of is Satoshi Batista from Michiko to Hatchin (which, ironically enough, is also set in a quasi-South American world). As far as adventures go, MCoG is one of the best, if not the best, out there. Given the fact that the series is over 25 years old it would be easy to think that I'm simply making this comment out of nostalgia or a sense of reminiscence. I'm not. I've just finished watching the DVD collection (a gift from someone who likes me a lot), and to say it puts almost every adventure based anime out there to shame would not be an understatement. MCoG set the standard for adventure anime, and it's a sad fact that these standards have not been maintained. I have enjoyed this series as a child and as a man, and it is one of only a handful of shows that I would watch in my dotage. There was, and still is, a sense of realism from the characters that most anime would envy, and I consider this series to be one of the most underrated classics (and I do not use that term lightly), in anime to date. Fans of classic anime will not be disappointed, so if you're into Legend of Galactic Heros then this may be right up your street. Likewise those who want something adventurous, and that makes you want to get out there and explore the world, should definitely give this a try. Don't be fooled by the dated look of the show. You're missing out otherwise. Oh, and for those of you who, like me, are fans of the series - REJOICE! There is apparently a movie to be produced of the series, and three new seasons have also been announced. We shall have to wait and see if they can live up to the standards set by the original. I, for one, am looking forward to them.

Ok, a little bit of a disclaimer before I start my review. I'll admit it - this review is highly biased in the sense that I'm a highly nostalgic person, and I am giving this anime such a high score mostly because of the great memories it gave me as a kid. Mysterious Cities of Gold (MCoG) is a personal favourite of mine - a classic anime from yesteryear. A literal gold nugget that popped up admist the overflowing sludge that was children's television programming in general. As Indiana Jones would say: "It belongs in a mueseum!" The problem with this anime is that if you are watching MCoG for the first time you may end up thinking that this DOES actually belong in a mueseum and I can see how watching it today may present some obstacles in its enjoyment. To cut to the chase - this anime was made over 25 years ago and it has not aged well. On comparison to today's animation production standards the quality of the soundtrack ranges from average to downright bad (depending on what copy you get your hands on), the animation is mediocre at best, and the voice acting? Lets just say, avoid the English language version like the plague. Now if you're a nostalgic old coot like myself who is looking to recover a long lost treasure from childhood these shortcomings probably won't be much of a problem - you see nostalgia tends to blind you to such deficiencies. You'll sit back on your rocking chair and start thinking: "Now, back in my day..." My guess is though that there is a fairly high chance that you may not be a cantankerous old git like myself. You may well be full of pluck, used to anime with high-octane thrills, visceral explosions with a pumping soundtrack in the background, ala Tengen Toppa Gurren Laggan. If you are, I have to tell you in advance: despite the high score I have given to this, you MAY not get into this. You have been warned. Now that that little disclaimer is over and done with, lets get down to why this show remains one of my favourite television shows, and why it will probably remain with me for the rest of my life. Now I said earlier that MCoG has rather bad production values compared with a lot of material that is getting released today. You have to remember though, that at the time of its release this anime literally blew the competition away and reshaped the concept of what makes for a good animation both for myself personally as a kid growing up, but also for the animation industry as a whole. It's kind of funny to say this, but as a kid I never really 'got into' cartoon shows aimed at kids. I never really liked Disney or Warner Brothers cartoons - even as a kid they seemed pretty lame, and I hated it how the animators of these shows just assumed that kids wouldn't get into a cartoon with a deeper undertone. It was like they were making cartoons just to get you to shut the fuck up while Mum cooked the tea. Then along came the Mysterious Cities of Gold - my first introduction the world of anime, and a cartoon with a riveting, exciting and at times highly emotional story. Picture this. A wide eyed child of about 5 years old sits down with a bowl of ice cream and turns on the TV. The kid hopes like hell that he wouldn't get the fucking Roger Ramjet theme blare at him again. Silence... This could just be his lucky day... A shot then starts to progressively cut in to South America and its temples from the far reaches of the galaxy while a man's voice booms: "It is the 16th century, from all over Europe great ships sail west to conquer the New World, the Americas" "The men eager to seek their fortune, to find new adventures in new lands" "They long to cross uncharted seas and discover unknown countries" "To find secret gold on a mountain trail high in the Andes" "They dream of following the path of the setting sun that leads to El Dorado," "And the MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD..." 20 minutes pass and the show ends. The kid's ice cream, long since forgotten about, lies melted beside him untouched... Now that's what I'm talking about! Finally there was a children's show that treated kids to something worth watching. The premise of it all - An adventure story with an intriguing, emotive plot and characters whose intentions were not always clear - finally a show that made you want to rush home from school and turn on the telly - it's all in the story. Yes MCoG is a children's show, but the story, setting and characters are so well done that I believe it can be enjoyed equally by adults - or, 'big kids at heart', much in the same way an adult may enjoy a Miyazaki film. No, MCoG doesn't feature the pumping soundtrack, or the flashy visuals on offer as in the majority of anime today. But it does offer something extra, that little something that is so hard to define. The X-factor that separates a true classic from a passing fad. MCoG was and is so important for me personally because it was my very first encounter with 'classic' entertaiment - something deep and meaningful that sticks with you for years, decades later. I've seen a lot of other shows since then and I actually tend to like most of them, but I would have inevitably forgotten about them within a year or two. There is something about shows like MCoG and a handful of other 'classic' shows that makes them unforgettable entertainment. I can't guarantee that you'll get the same buzz that I got as a kid when I watched it all those years ago, but I can guarantee that you'll be watching a pioneering anime of the 80's, an eternal classic whose influence can be seen in a number of highly regarded anime of today's generation.

One of the best animated I've seen ... It's my childhood bitch to him I became interested in the pre-Columbian civilizations and history in general ! The senario is really great, one path he looked really top (presence of the Nazca lines, ...). I really committed to this series throughout my childhood. Too bad the incompetant have soiled the image of the series trying to make a Season 2 (especially not if !)

I just want to open this one by saying I am completely biased. I was ADDICTED to MCoG when I was a kid and as soon as it came out on DVD I bought the boxset and watched every episode back to back. (Severely annoying several of my friends in the process.) If you didn't catch this one back in the 80's then it might not hold the same magical charm for you that it holds for a lot of 80's kids, however with a remake on the horizon I think its long over due for a comeback. I will admit here and now that I have never watched the Japanese language version, so I can't speak for that one but I think MCoG still has it's place in the world. The series has one long running story arc so it's not really possible to watch it out of order if you are completely unfamiliar with it. However, for a kids show the story arc is well developed and much more than you would expect. The show was an early experiment in 'edutainment' each episode ended with the voice over guy giving you some interesting facts about south america or whatever the theme of the episode was. I almost enjoyed those bits as much as the main show itself. The voice acting wasn't brilliant on the part of the kids, but since they were actually voiced by children I think we can forgive it of them. I would recommend this show to anyone who wants to watch some good old fashioned adventure, anyone who likes long story arcs or anyone who just fancies watching it. It's a great piece of nostalgia & with a remake right around the corner its always good to see where things started. I'll end this review here before I start signing the theme tune...

Given that a lot of reviewers admit right off the base that it has nostalgic value for them, the first thing I'm going to say is that this show does not for me. I wasn't born until 1988 and I didn't even get cable until late 2001, I had no way to watch this show until hulu and DVD. So, this is a review from someone who did not have nostalgic factor involved as a disclaimer before I even start this. Now, onto the review! I'll start with the weaker elements first, the animation did not age particularly well and the voice acting often comes across as stiff. Now, it's pretty cool that they actually used kids to voice the kids, but they're not terribly good most of the time and not having a strict script resulted in saying way too much at certain times and having it come off rather stiff and forced a lot. I am thinking this is simply the era it was dubbed, I've heard other 80s cartoon dubs in my life before and a lot of them sound similar, like America did not learn how to dub well until the 90s. Robotech was a rare exception for me where I quite liked most of the voices and voice acting, so good acting has come out of the 80s, but I'm not going to say this was a particularly good dub. I did eventually get used to the voices, but certain animations on screen would cause a syndrome in which the characters would be forced to say incredibly obvious things like "watch out for the rocks!" while the rocks are already falling or make several characters obsess over the same event for way too many lines ("wow, I can't believe we dodged all those falling rocks! There were so many!" "Yeah, that was close!" "Is everyone ok?" "Yes, we're all ok! I'm glad none of us got hurt!" "So am I!"). I'm fairly sure a lot of these instances had to come from the animation itself, which was another thing that didn't necessarily age too well. The backgrounds look nice most of the time and for its time, it's actually pretty good, but fight scenes are pretty poorly animated and you can just see that a lot of animation was reused as the same guy climbs up a ladder right behind his identical twin. The animation really felt like it limited the series too me, I often felt that they had to write around it and came up with scenarios that required less animation. The music is pretty nice, but certainly comes off as 80s sounding with some synthesizer stuff mixed in everywhere. You either like it or you don't, but it did fit the series pretty well. But onto the actual reason for watching, the story and characters. Now, I'm not sure if this was a requirement of all 80s and 90s adventure type series, but there are several worthless characters who just tag along for what I can only imagine is to annoy the audience, and here we have two and a half, the two idiot Spaniards who's entire mission it is to almost kill everyone by being stupid and getting them in trouble and the most useful thing they do the entire series is find a cave behind a waterfall while spending the rest of it demanding gold and being useless and whiney and a little bird who is actually useful in warning of danger, but it's voice is just annoying as all hell. While I can forgive the bird (it is kinda the team pet), those two idiots are pretty much worthless to the point where their employer says so and these two are there the entire series while contributing nary a drop to the story or action and they're so annoying they can't pull off funny either. For me, the best character was probably Mendolza, you could never quite tell who he was siding with, the side that gets the gold or the side that follows the kids on adventures, and it was interesting to second guess what he was going to do. Even after all this time, he still felt interesting, he did age well. As for the kids themselves, they obviously are the main focus of the series here, well they tended to vary in how interesting they were. It would often depend on what the episode was focusing on, but for the most part, Tao stole the spotlight for me while Zia stood in the corner shouting "Oh, Esteban!" while being kidnapped or held at...sword point (I suppose you would call it) way too often (I'm assuming because of animation limits) in need of rescue. Esteban could be pretty interesting too, he showed he had some brains and did some clever and unexpected things, but he can't bargain with bad guys very well nor outsmart them. As soon as any given bad guy threatened Zia or Tao, he'd instantly give in to whatever there demands are. On the rare occasion he did manage to outsmart one, it was quite fun to watch. Oddly enough, the bad guys themselves weren't terribly smart, they often do the same stupid tactics and are easily fooled by falling rocks, they all just happened to be extremely good at capturing Zia and holder her at sword point. It only helped the bad guys that the animation forced a syndrome in which no one could look behind them to notice someone obviously about to kidnap Zia until she went "Oh, Esteban, help!" even when there were obviously bad guys in the room, all armed with swords, standing closest to Zia. I was unable to suspend my belief here when it happened almost once an episode. But it all boils down to one thing for me: is this a good adventure series? And I would have to say that yes, it is. The locales were fun and imaginative while still being based in reality and some ridiculously unlikely dangerous thing was on the verge of happening every other second to spur the plot along (to quote family guy: "and then he was attacked by a pots and pans robot!!") and the episodes just flew by. Despite spending a bit too long talking about stupid stuff, a lot of stuff happened each episode, so pacing was fast. I liked it all until the sudden appearance of a certain group towards the end that just seemed out of place within the show, annoyingly, this group was there from that episode pretty much until the end of the series. It didn't ruin it, but it did annoy me at least. If you can ignore things like animation, long winded scentences about what you already see happening, and some really stupid characters, it's still an enjoyable ride and most of it is pretty good. It was, however, overly predictable with the exception of Mendolza who could always be counted on to add a bit of spice to the show in any given situation. I'd still call it good, but would probably most recommend it to people who find nostalgia in it, like adventure shows a lot, like 80s shows, or are going to show it to a younger child, sibling, niece/nephew, etc. The educational segments at the end sometimes contain some mild nudity, but they really helped add to the world and were usually very interesting (a few sucked, maybe 4 out of 39).

I watched this when i was a child, it was my first anime. This is coming from someone who's all time favorite movie was GOONIES. The animation is pretty good considering it was the early 1980's. It's about a boy called Esteban(child of the sun) who is taken from Spain and is boarded aboard a ship to help find the cities of gold. He and his friend's go on a puzzling adventure with some sci fi Mayan artifacts. If you like stuff about Mayan history and treasure hunting you should like this.

Yet another animated series I watched as a kid and had no idea it was to the most part made by Japanese people. Then again, it was so good to be made by any other country so that pretty much explains it. Technically, The Mysterious Cities of Gold (TMCOG) was the One Piece of anime back in the early 80’s. It is a children’s adventure regarding seeking treasure, discovering ancient civilizations, uncovering secrets, and occasionally using relics to fight their way through various challenges and opponents. It is partially based on actual history, the age of exploration during the charting of America, and even has live-action documentary segments in the end of each episode that teach the children to the basic events that took place at that era. Thus it entertaining and educational at the same time, two elements that usually conflict with each other when it comes to animated shows. I sort of see it as a great combination of a historical documentary such as the journeys of Christopher Columbus with a classic fictional adventure full of action and suspense, such as Treasure Island. Although there actually are anime made about both those titles around the same time, none were as captivating as TMCOG because they both felt too basic. Despite its age, the production values are not bad at all. Although the character figures look rather simply drawn and have minimal shading on them, their motions are usually very dynamic in terms of performance (not frames per second) so your eyes are kept busy looking at something all the time. I am even willing to say most modern anime shows have far less things going on in each scene compared to this oldie, thus tend to be far easier to be bored if all you look at is frozen caricatures with a flapping mouth. Also, since none of the characters has superpowers you are guaranteed an interesting event no matter how simple it may appear to be. Steering a ship or climbing a mountain tends to be a dangerous task and the series takes its time to show how they need to organize in order to do it right. Whole episodes are spent in just having the characters sailing or walking, while at the same time flavouring them as personalities and making the simplest thing they do to appear hard, dangerous, and meaningful. Sadly, the above doesn’t stand true all the way and in the second half there is way too much super technology going around to water-down the feeling of adventure. The characters will simply use their medallions to unlock gates nobody else can or fly with an airplane (made in ancient times!) to complete any task in a few seconds. They make it seem so simple and rushed, it loses its initial importance. Regarding the sound part, I never watched the series in the original Japanese or French dub; just in Greek as a kid and in English as an adult. In both cases I can’t say they were very impressive. In fact, I could say they felt very colourless, childish and simple but then again it is a show aimed at children so no worries here. The music themes are very nifty and they tend to be very memorable. They have tunes that make them sound like they are from native Central America and the lyrics are full of adventure-inspiring words; so I say they are successful at what they set out to do. The story is simply amazing if you see it as a whole. It combines both historical facts, has lots of adventure and mystery, has lots of character interaction, has lots of excitement and above all HAS ALMOST NO FILLERS! The main three heroes are kids who seek to find something important in the Incan ruins (each one has different goals though) and are supported by a crew of explorers who simply want to find gold and get rich. So there is variety in the motivations of its characters, something which usually leads to internal conflicts. The themes are also changing from time to time so you are again not getting the same atmosphere in all the episodes. Some of them can be about adventure, others about pacifism, others about greed, and so on. Some of them event have science fiction in them which may feel out of context a bit (makes the Incas to appear like they had 20th century technology) but I guess it is excused in a children’s adventure and since we already have all those weird Nazka theories. What may feel tiresome is how the action is almost always very basic and any conflict is resolved in a rather cop-out manner. It tends to get boring if you are sure the heroes will find a way to get out of any danger without ever getting hurt. Also, some parts will feel unnecessary long and the payback will be just something you knew all along that would happen. But as I said, waiting for those live action segments just to see how all that fit in the story was keeping me interested no matter what was happening. The characters will feel rather basic and stereotypical but they definitely get some sort of development along the way and everybody is given enough focus for you to know and like. Although they are all very simple as personalities and act rather cartoony (extreme personal quirks or traits), they are all a colourful bunch and I liked them for what they are. We get the usual high-spirited kids, the greedy adventurers, the stupid megalomaniac villains, the vengeful natives, but thanks to the variable themes of the story, they definitely manage to grow on you. It is without doubt one of the best animated retro adventures of all times and I recommend it to everyone who wants some good old fashion excitement regarding treasure hunting and exploration. And now for some excused scorings. ART SECTION: 7/10 General Artwork 1/2 (basic) Character Figures 1/2 (generic) Backgrounds 2/2 (basic but enriched with live action footage) Animation 2/2 (basic frames per second but lots of action) Visual Effects 1/2 (basic) SOUND SECTION: 6/10 Voice Acting 1/3 (childish and colorless) Music Themes 3/4 (not great but fitting with the feeling of the series) Sound Effects 2/3 (ok I guess) STORY SECTION: 9/10 Premise 2/2 (interesting) Pacing 1/2 (good to the most part but makes circles and stretches out at points) Complexity 2/2 (combines many themes and elements) Plausibility 2/2 (excused nicely with in-series logic) Conclusion 2/2 (solid) CHARACTER SECTION: 6/10 Presence 1/2 (generic) Personality 2/2 (simple but well founded) Backdrop 1/2 (generic and simplistic but it’s there) Development 1/2 (childish but it’s there) Catharsis 1/2 (childish but it’s there) VALUE SECTION: 7/10 Historical Value 1/3 (still remembered by some as an interesting retro title) Rewatchability 2/3 (high because of the good pacing and the variety in themes) Memorability 4/4 (unforgettable) ENJOYMENT SECTION: 7/10 Art 1/1 (looks nice) Sound 1/2 (voice acting is bad but the music pieces are good) Story 2/3 (good ideas that are mostly exploited properly) Characters 3/4 (they are not anything special but are surely looked upon and become likable) VERDICT: 7/10