Fresh and Exciting

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Most of the television programmes of the 1980s were interested only in marketing toys ( though He-Man was good in its own right) this series captivated young audiences with a story line out of the ordinary The story centres on three young children Esteban, Zia and Tao the former two through their families have necklaces that lead to the Cities of Gold or El Dorado as its commonly called. This intrigues a Spanish Maverick called Mendoza who alongside other greedy and competing Europeans use the children for there own purposes in their adventures in South America. Mendoza however warms to the children and encounters the great civilisations and mysteries of South America some of them so remote or lost to the mysteries of time not known to other Europeans combined with mystic and intrigue making the series dynamic with great music and animation. The minor faults about the series in my opinion is that I think Zia and Esteban should of got together and an adaption of this South American odyssey to the source from where it came The King's Fifth adding more of a colonialist element between Europeans and natives expressed with Esteban and Zia's relationship.

I probably watched all of about two or three episodes in total of this French-Japanese animation as a child but thanks to the beautiful animation, stunning visuals and the beyond epic theme song it has stayed permanently embedded in my psyche ever since.Now as I have the chance to watch every episode from the beginning, there are two things that stand out to me; (1) I was shocked to learn that it originally aired in it's entirety before I was even born and (2) I am only about eight episodes in and already I can see why this resonated so deeply with many eighties kids, like myself; not only is the animation beautiful, but the story, which centres around Spanish exploration of the Americas in the 16th century, is very mature and the characters incredibly engaging and complex for a children's show.While the adult characters are driven by very 'adult' motivations of seeking fortune and notoriety in finding 'The Mysterious Cities of Gold', the children are driven by much 'purer' motivations; Esteban, a young Spanish boy who lived his whole life believing he was an orphan learns from a man named Mendosa that he is a 'Child of the Sun' and that he was rescued at sea by Mendosa himself and his real father may still be alive, somewhere in The New World, close to where he was rescued.Zia, a young Incan girl, who was taken from her family and captured against her will by Spanish explorers, wants to reunite with her people but is conflicted because in doing so she will lead her captors straight to them.And lastly, Tao, who joins the story a little later, is the last remaining member of a technologically advanced race who believes he will discover the secrets of his people in the Mysterious Cities of Gold.If I had to nitpick anything, it would be that while Esteban, Zia and Tao are all implied to be around the same age, in the English dub, Esteban sounds notably younger than Zia and Tao, who both sound like the preteens they're supposed to be. Esteban sounds like he's about eight years old. But that's a really tiny nitpick.I wish I could could say it's my age making me say 'they don't make them like this anymore', but they really don't.

'The Mysterious Cities of Gold' is a Japanese-French animation series. Set in 1532, the story follows the adventures of a young Spanish boy named Esteban who joins a voyage to Peru in search of the lost cities of gold and his father who has gone missing there. On his way, he and his friends set examples in honesty, courage and generosity which we can only applaud. Thanks to the creators of this series, we can all sail with Esteban and his friends through the treacherous Straits of Magellan; visit strange creatures of Galapagos Islands; marvel over the breath-taking beauty of Macchu Picchu; fly on a condor over Amazon rain forest; flee the marauding soldiers of Francisco Pizzaro and have wonderful adventures in an exotic realm.

I watched this back in the early 90s when I was quite young and wow what a great series it was. An interesting storyline, it tells the story of a boy named Esteban who is renowned in Barcelona during the 1500s for being a child of the sun and having strange powers. He is then looking for the Mysterious Cities of Gold along with another child (an Inca girl named Zia) who also has the same medallion as him, both having a supernatural connection. Other characters include a boy from South America named Tao as well people from the old world Mendoza and co who are interested in seeking the cities.The series was a great childhood anime as there are memorable characters and the storyline offers a philosophical and paranormal touch entwined with a balance of history. The MCOG is an anime that was very unique and it's a shame that there are no others like it today.