Anime: Taiyou no Ko Esteban

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.

This is probably my favourite anime of all time. I watched it religiously as a kid when it first came out (1982), and would watch it again at any time even now. I recommend it to everyone. I shall attempt to explain my ludicrously high ratings for the series as best I can.

PLEASE NOTE THAT I'M REVIEWING BASED ON 1980s STANDARDS, SINCE I WATCHED IT FIRST AROUND THAT TIME. THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THIS SERIES ARE INDEED OBVIOUSLY DATED COMPARED TO MODERN ANIME.

Visuals:
Absolutely breathtaking. The vibrant colours and artwork, the animation, the unbelievable and immensely varied environments coupled with the style and visual direction are simply superb, and induce a warm pleasant feeling inside. The atmosphere generated is one-of-a-kind. There are some excellent and well thought-out structural designs, eg the Golden Condor & Solaris, as well as the vast number of places that are visited throughout the journey of the anime which really draw you into its world.

If you watch this series with no real appreciation for much anime before the 90s, the visuals will seem horribly dated, which is understandable considering modern visual quality. To those used to modern-day anime, I would therefore recommend watching this series with an open mind with concern to the visuals.

Sound:
How I do love it. For more than 20 years I've STILL remembered the lyrics to the opening/closing credits, and will never hesitate to sing along. The musical score within the anime is probably one of the most memorable for me personally - it's lovely, it's epic, and it has become very dear to me. The sound effects are beautifully realised and, whilst modern-day anime would no doubt put them to shame with their clarity, I feel they still hold their own to this day.

The voice acting - baring in mind I saw the English dubbed version - is I think, the only ever time I commend dubbing. I don't think i've ever said that I would prefer a dubbed English language over genuine native language + English subs, but i've seen some of the native language + subs episodes and they just didn't feel right, with frankly some silly-sounding characters. I have to give top praise for the English dub, and for those people who don't understand French or Japanese, I would recommend the dubbed English version (for English-speaking people) over subtitles.

Story:
The story is... epic. How else to describe such a thing? For a series that doesn't structure itself on monster-of-the-week episodes, but instead progresses with each episode to move the story to the next chapter as if it's one colossal adventure, I do not think I have seen better. The idea is superb, the execution is awesome, and the flow and lack of fillers/boring parts are wonderful.

The anime takes place almost 100 years ago, starting in "Barcelona, Spain, in the rain" (opening quote). We are introduced to a child who we find out was rescued out at sea when he was a baby. He wears a strange medallion around his neck, and the local people regard him as the Child of the Sun, and believe he can make the Sun come out through the clouds at will. One day he meets a sailor who entices him to journey with him across the ocean in search for one of the seven legendary 'Cities of Gold' - a city thought to be hidden somewhere in South America and made entirely of Gold. The child agrees.

The series progresses through adventurous oceanic voyages; ancient Inca/Mayan/Aztec-like civilisations; and across several types of landscapes, each bringing with it it's own challenges, obstacles, and beauty. Once the initial 5-6 episode settling-in period is over, there is never a dull moment. Pirate chases; large creature battles; wars between civilisations - it's all here. And the concept is truly amazing.

Absolutely all the aspects of the plot engrossed me personally, and I never found it to be predicable. The story makes a wonderful winding path to a decent climax, and I felt it did a fabulous job of keeping me gripped and wanting to see more after each episode was over. There are many different places in the series that are visited on the journey by the lead characters, and I found each one to be full of mystique and wonder.

Characters:
Extremely memorable from the outset. From the 6 lead characters, the kid-trio are all excellent, and being 10 years old they aren't too complicated by teenage emotion as yet, so they can focus on the adventure rather than unnecessarily analysing relationships and bonds. It becomes much more based on instinct, which makes it fun to watch them. The adult-trio are surprisingly interesting too. One would think that the kids would overshadow the adults in terms of intrigue, but the adults are just as part of the bunch as the kids, and they add a nice sense of security.

The villains in the series are suitably horrible people, and do their job of making the viewer hate them well. Each of the many, MANY supporting characters the bunch meet on their adventure are very well thought out and managed, and I found that they fit every encountered civilisation in a comfortable way.

Value:
The replay value, for a 39 episode anime series, is top notch. I don't think I'd watch any other lengthy series as often as this. The story is so great that I start to yearn for the adventure over again. I commend the writers for making it so interesting.

Enjoyment:
This is a thoroughly enjoyable and wonderful series, and I would recommend it to everyone on earth. It's unfortunate that it's REALLY hard to get a hold of (as far as English dubbed version goes anyway; I got mine from http://www.mysteriouscitiesofgold.co.uk and can vouch for its quality and reliability). The Mysterious Cities of Gold is probably my most memorable tv programme/anime/cartoon of all time, and my honest suggestion is to give it a go.

This is truly one of the series that has marked a lot of people as children. Although I get a feeling that is is not very well known to native speakers of English (probably due to the fact that it was the result of a France-Japan collaboration, and maybe also to the unending reruns of the French dubs on TV) it is very well known in many, many countries.

Its main attractive aspect is the story development. Spanning over 39 episodes, this is as far as you can get from the traditional episodic anime (storywise of course). Episodes are never repetitive, and if they often sidestep from the main storyline, they always get back on track with more clues and details that make it go forward. The different quests of those 3 kids and their "parental supervisor" Mendoza are simply addictive, full of twists, and will keep you watching until the end.

The only downside of it all (to my taste, but it's not really a flaw in itself) is the fact that while this series's focus is mostly an adventure in the pure sense of it, the writers really had to add this sci-fi element close to the end that somehow destroyed the whole "magical and historical" aspect of the story. Some people probably wouldn't mind the additional twist, but to me it seemed out of context and not very well appropriate to the feeling that I got up to that point. Think about Indiana Jones suddenly facing some threat from outer space: this is how I felt when this new element came in the story.

The characters are also interesting, although typical of the kids anime of the 70s and early 80s, where most of the main characters HAD to be orphans with a tragic past (think Candy the orphan, Remi the wanderer, Hutch the bee, Demetan the frog, Chuck the beaver, etc etc). The main character, Esteban, is young, smart, looking for his father, and of course his destiny is matched likewise with the cute Inca girl also looking for her father, and Tao for his people. Sounds like "more of the same", but it makes for great adventures and addictive stories (you know, the ones you OUGHT to know the end to). However, they are your stereotypical innocent-and-pure-and-we-like-everyone kids, and in the end, they don't evolve or mature inasmuch as they have interesting/tragic stories happening to them. Hmm.

The animation is very well done, with a soft touch to it where lines are not so sharp and well defined. In the opening sequence, colorized photos are also used as backgrounds, a technique not used very often, that made it look "special". Designs are absolutely fantastic and a perfect fit to the story, where even the machines and the awesome flying condor seem to be natural elements of that era.

Musicwise, this series also scores an amazing soundtrack, with a lot of recurrent musical motives that express very well the majesty and wonder of many scenes and discoveries made along the way, as well as the character's mood. It's got grandiose moments, tragic and touching ones, and funny aspects too. It's not orchestral music though, so if you HATE synthesizers you might be annoyed by it. There are, I believe, about a dozen or so of musical tracks, so yes, they get used very often in 39 episodes, but they strike the chord of nostalgia in all the longtime fans much like the Imperial March and its BGM variants does for all the Star Wars fans.

There is definitely a high rewatch value for this series, especially for people who have seen it as kids. The ongoing story helps a lot in this area, mostly because it feels like watching a very, very long movie instead of episodes that end without going anywhere. I would definitely recommend to all longtime anime fans to get their hands on this one if it's not been done yet! :)

Firstly, this series is a real nostalgia trip, and I single handedly added 39 episodes + 41 specials with CRC and MD5 hashes - so in short I am a fan of this ancient series. I first saw with Arabic subtitles in Damascus Syria until the gulf war meant I had to move and didn't see the end of this fantastic series until some 12 years later.

-- Note:
This series was made in 1982, so all the marks have taken this into account.
--

The style is in keeping with it's age, but this doesn't mean that it is bad. The little touches such as hair and clothes moving in the wind help to keep the scenes interesting.
All in all, the art is fairly plain and the animation is not particularly interesting. But it can be forgiven because of its age.

The voice acting is pretty awful... actually it's dire! However, after about 5-6 episodes you get used to it.. the story and plot developments are enough that the importance of the voice acting fades with time...

The music is one of features I remember best from watching it on TV and it certainly doesn't dissapoint. While using synths heavily, it carries the air of mystery and wonder which the series is all about... if you saw the series before then you will alsmot certainly perk up and listen when "that" music comes on and possibly shed a nostalgic tear.
There is a lot of background music (possibly to make up for the lack of voice acting and plain style), the music can almost be used as an indicator to Estebans feelings at time. When a sunset inspires him, or a scene saddens him it is apparnt through good use of music.

Story wise it is beautiful. Esteban, an orphan boy raised by a priest in Spain, is asked to join the Spanish fleet on their way to the new world ( America ) by the fleet navigator Mendoza. During the long voyage he befriends an Incan girl who has a medallion similar to the one he wears; his only hint of his family background.
Once in the New World they eventually escape from the Spanish and discover fantastic ruins of the Incan people. In each ruin they come across a great power is awakened by the medallions they carry, and all they meet recognise their medallions and refer to them as the children of the sun, who , it is told, will save the people of the New World.
Just when you think there are no more twists to come they will suprise you and introduce a completely new element.
Unlike most stories I have come across, this one has a certain richness about it. For example they meet a race of people who are under the influence of a witch doctor, but they don't dwell on this more than 4 episodes, and then move on with the plot - it is the richness of all the unknown and unexplained of a foreign world.
The ending has a fantastic revelation about the fabled cities of gold and doesn't dissapoint.

Characters are good too, though a little dry by today's film-making standards - much in the same way that 1950s films seem to have dry characters. The friendship between Esteban and the others is the key focus character-wise. Characters development is quite good, though quite subtle.
They always travel in a group, and many characters leave and return to this group, sometimes by choice, disagreements or even kidnapping.

If, like myself, you watched it when you were about 7 then it truly is worth a rewatch! Second time around I appreciated all the sacrifices that everyone makes to get through their arduous journey.

All in all, it's a fantastic trip down memory lane, and after 12 years it was actually BETTER than I remembered it. Even if you didn't watch it back in the before time, in the long-long ago, you will almost surely be sucked into the world of wonder and intrigue that MCoG offers!