History Anime / TheMysteriousCitiesOfGold

* TheAmazon: Much of the story takes place here...

* BelatedBackstory: We first meet Tao living alone in a huge village in a tree, which we assume was built by his family over the generations. When Papa Camayo dies, he reveals that he actually built it all himself, to cope with the death of his father and the loneliness that followed. It certainly explains why he has no qualms putting it all to the torch upon leaving the island.

%%* BecauseDestinySaysSo

%%* BeginnersLuck

** Le Grand Condor (French) to the Golden Condor (English). Interestingly it's also called the Golden Condor (''Ogon no kondoru'') in Japanese.

* LastOfHisKind: Tao

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Tao. Geographically speaking, you could assume he's a Native American or Pacific Islander, but his hair, skin tone and features also remind of black or North African populations. As the last of the Hevans, he's likely from an extinct ethnicity.

* CueTheSun: Esteban has the ability to call forth the sun.

* CartoonishCompanions: Tao, Sancho, and Pedro are drawn in such a way that they don't quite fit the "normal" art style of the show.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Although the exact nature of their relationship is never clarified, Malinche is visibly concerned for Tetiola's welfare when he's briefly enslaved by the Olmecs and is very relieved when he's released.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Malinche suggests poisoning a village to get at the gold in the lake as well as to keep the kids from being sacrificed. The doctor's response to this suggestion is, "What?!" and says he hates doing it this way, but all it takes for him to get over it is Marinche reminding him of all the gold.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** Esteban is believed to be a God by various New World tribes. He's not too keen on it himself, though.

* ShipSinking: Fans who ship Zia/Esteban, as well as a smaller crowd who might ship Zia/Tao, would've been dealt a devastating blow by the 'paper raft' scene in the Japanese temple in Season 3, which seemingly [[spoiler:delivered a prediction that neither Esteban nor Tao are destined to marry Zia.]]

After the conclusion of the first season, thirty years passed before it was announced that the series would be returning to air. Three new seasons were announced, with the first of these airing in 2012, and the second airing in the fall of 2016. These latter seasons picked up the plot from where the end of the first season left off, and continued the story instead of rebooting it. The original series still retains a large fan following, although reception of the later seasons has been mixed. The later seasons are French/Belgian/Canadian co-productions with no Japanese involvement and are thus not considered anime, although they do use the original Toshiyasu Okada character designs and Creator/WangFilmProductions participated in series two.

* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The theme songs in the French and English versions of the '80s series use the same Haim Saban/Shuki Levy-composed melody line and are even sung by the same vocalist, Noam Kaniel. By contrast, the Japanese version had completely different opening and ending themes.

Unlike other DIC collaborations with Japanese studios, the '80s series is considered anime due to having premiered in Japan first. DIC joined NHK as a production partner beginning with episode seven and spurred the introduction of more science-fiction elements into the story. The result was a series that became a cult classic in the West despite quickly falling into obscurity in Japan.

After the conclusion of the first season, thirty years passed before it was announced that the series would be returning to air. Three new seasons were announced, with the first of these airing in 2012, and the second airing in the fall of 2016. These latter seasons picked up the plot from where the end of the first season left off, and continued the story instead of rebooting it. The original series still retains a large fan following, although reception of the later seasons has been mixed. Pierrot had no involvement in the sequels, with the animation being handled by other European, Asian and Quebecois studios.

After the conclusion of the first season, thirty years passed before it was announced that the series would be returning to air. Three new seasons were announced, with the first of these airing in 2012, and the second airing in the fall of 2016. These latter seasons picked up the plot from where the end of the first season left off, and continued the story instead of rebooting it. The original series still retains a large fan following, although reception of the later seasons has been mixed.

''The Mysterious Cities of Gold'' (Japanese: 太陽の子エステバン ''Taiyou no Ko Esuteban'', ''"Child of the Sun, Esteban"''; French: ''Les Mystérieuses Cités d'or''), is a Franco-Japanese co-production between Creator/{{DIC}} and Creator/StudioPierrot, originally airing on Japan's UsefulNotes/StateBroadcaster, Creator/{{NHK}}, from 1982 to 1983. In North America, the series aired in English on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} from 1986 to 1990 and in French on [[Creator/{{CBC}} Radio-Canada]] and Télé-Québec, where it ran in reruns for several decades and was a staple of the channel. The English version has also been broadcast in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and some southern African nations. Back in Japan, NHK reran the series in 1998 with a new Japanese dub (actually a redub from the French version, as the original Japanese dialogue track had been lost), with only Creator/MasakoNozawa (Esteban) reprising her role from the 1982 series.

Compare to ''Anime/FutureBoyConan'' and ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'', two other anime with similar themes, both also aired on NHK.

Unlike other DIC collaborations with Japanese studios, the '80s series is considered anime due to having premiered in Japan first. DIC joined NHK as a production partner beginning with episode seven and spurred the introduction of more science-fiction elements into the story. The result was a series that became a phenomenon overseas despite low ratings in Japan.

* GratuitousEnglish: "Try my best!" in the Japanese opening song.

Compare to ''Series/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'', another NHK anime with similar themes.

''The Mysterious Cities of Gold'' (Japanese: 太陽の子エステバン ''Taiyou no Ko Esuteban'', ''"Child of the Sun, Esteban"''; French: ''Les Mystérieuses Cités d'or''), is a Franco-Japanese co-production between Creator/{{DIC}} and Creator/StudioPierrot, originally airing on Japan's UsefulNotes/StateBroadcaster, Creator/{{NHK}}, from 1982 to 1983. In North America, the series aired in English on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} from 1986 to 1990 and in French on [[Creator/{{CBC}} Radio-Canada]] and Télé-Québec, where it ran in reruns for several decades and was a staple of the channel. NHK reran the series in 1998 with a new Japanese dub (actually a redub from the French version, as the original Japanese dialogue track had been lost), with only Creator/MasakoNozawa (Esteban) reprising her role from the 1982 series.

Halfway through the first season, the tone of the story begins to change from a mostly-historical narrative to a more fantastic one with the discovery advanced {{Precursor}} {{Mayincatec}} technology. First the solar powered ship Solaris, and later the [[GlobalAirship Golden Condor]], who would become one of the show's icons. The first season culminates in a battle with the mysterious Olmecs, and the discovery that the Cities of Gold were built by Tao's ancestors, the people of Mu. This tone continues into seasons two and three, focussing primarily on the search for the Cities of Gold and the technology of Mu. Season Two introduces a new villain in Zares, a mysterious hooded figure who seeks the cities for his own purposes. It also reveals a startling fact about Esteban's history – He is an Atlantean, the ancient enemies of Mu.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: The origin and downfall of the Olmecs.

''The Mysterious Cities of Gold'' (Japanese: 太陽の子エステバン ''Taiyou no Ko Esuteban'', ''"Child of the Sun, Esteban"''; French: ''Les Mystérieuses Cités d'or''), is a Franco-Japanese co-production between Creator/{{DIC}} and Creator/StudioPierrot, originally airing on Japan's UsefulNotes/StateBroadcaster, Creator/{{NHK}}, from 1982 to 1983. In North America, the series aired in English on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} from 1986 to 1990 and in French on [[Creator/{{CBC}} Radio-Canada]]. NHK reran the series in 1998 with a new Japanese dub (actually a redub from the French version, as the original Japanese dialogue track had been lost), with only Creator/MasakoNozawa (Esteban) reprising her role from the 1982 series.

''The Mysterious Cities of Gold'' (Japanese: 太陽の子エステバン ''Taiyou no Ko Esuteban'', ''"Child of the Sun, Esteban"''; French: ''Les Mystérieuses Cités d'or''), is a Franco-Japanese co-production between Creator/{{DIC}} and Creator/StudioPierrot, originally airing on Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, from 1982 to 1983. In North America, the series aired in English on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} from 1986 to 1990 and in French on [[Creator/{{CBC}} Radio-Canada]]. NHK reran the series in 1998 with a new Japanese dub (actually a redub from the French version, as the original Japanese dialogue track had been lost), with only Creator/MasakoNozawa (Esteban) reprising her role from the 1982 series.