History Anime / TheMysteriousCitiesOfGold

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

* InternationalCoproduction: The original series began as a wholly Japanese conception, with [=DiC=] joining NHK, MK and Pierrot as a production partner starting with episode 7.

''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-Luxembourgish-Japanese co-production between Creator/{{DIC}} and Creator/StudioPierrot, originally airing on Japan's UsefulNotes/StateBroadcaster, Creator/{{NHK}}, in France on Antenne 2 and in Luxembourg (also seen in Belgium and Lorraine in France) on RTL Télévision 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 1982.

The story begins in the year 1532, and initially focuses on the legends of [[CityofGold El Dorado]] and the [[UsefulNotes/TheKingdomOfSpain conquest of the New World by the Conquistadores]]. These events are seen through the eyes of Esteban, a boy raised by the monks of the Cathedral in Barcelona who posseses two unusual things: An amulet shaped like a crescent moon, and the ability to [[CueTheSun summon the sun]]. Following the death of his caretaker, Esteban departs for the New World in search of his family. Along the way, he meets [[TrueCompanions Zia, Tao, Mendoza, Sancho, Pedro, and Kokapetl]]. Together, this unlikely band sets out to find the cities of gold.

* AntagonistInMourning: When Zia makes Gomez and Garpard believe that Mendoza was killed, the two Spaniards are visibly saddened.

* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: The ultimate purpose of the Cities of Gold themselves; the Emperor of Hiva/Mu forsaw the probability that they and Atlantis might get into a no-holds bared nuclear war and had the cities built to ensure their knowedlge and technology could be recovered afterwads. Although this is only explained at the end of the first series; to everoyne else they are just filled with Gold.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Esteban's alleged sun summoning powers are brought into effect three times: once when he's a baby, once in Barcelona early in the show, and once amongst the Amazons. The Spanish populace is amazed by it, as are the Native Americans who witness it, but Esteban himself, Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro aren't quite convinced. During the third occurence, Mendoza points out that the storm clouds above them were moving extremely fast, meaning that a sunny respite could occur at any time.

** Zia in season 1 is a lesser example: Her skill at deciphering kipus early in the series is essential to the plot, but after this, she's prone to being kidnapped and needing rescuing a lot while contributing very little to the plot, especially when the story moves away from her people towards the tribes of the Amazon.

* UndignifiedDeath: Zigzagged. Although [[spoiler:Papa Camayo]]'s death scene is easily one of the most poignant and significant deaths in the entire series, the moment shortly earlier when he is mortally wounded is practically played for a cheap laugh. The random Olmec soldier who shoots him seems to have the voice and personality of [[Characters/TheSmurfsThe100Smurfs Jokey Smurf]], and he is comically pummelled with a tree trunk by [[ThoseTwoGuys Pedro and Sancho]] after dealing the fateful shot.

''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-Luxembourgish-Japanese co-production between Creator/{{DIC}} and Creator/StudioPierrot, originally airing on Japan's UsefulNotes/StateBroadcaster, Creator/{{NHK}}, in France on Antenne 2 and in Luxembourg (also seen in Belgium and Lorriane in France) on RTL Télévision 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 1982.

''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 1982.

** DisappearedFather: It's the reason why Esteban accepts Mendoza's offer. Later when Zia finds out her father left on a journey, she searches for him.

** Several characters, like Pizarro and Mendoza, are based on historical people. Also, the term "Children of the Sun" is the name the Incas sometimes called themselves. "Child of the Sun" was a title given to a Spanish man named Alvarado, Cortez's right hand man by the Indians.

* ThreeAmigos: Esteban, Zia and Tao.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Esteban's alledged sun summoning powers are brought into effect three times: once when he's a baby, once in Barcelona early in the show, and once amongst the Amazons. The Spanish populace is amazed by it, as are the Native Americans who witness it, but Esteban himself, Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro aren't quite convinced. During the third occurence, Mendoza points out that the storm clouds above them were moving extremely fast, meaning that a sunny respite could occur at any time.

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|s}} {{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.

* {{Cameo}}: Several. Gomez, Gaspard, and Pizzaro are briefly visible in the recap for season one, Mayuca gets a small but important scene introducing the new villain, and Papacamayo appears in two of Zia's flashbacks to her childhood.

* 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.
** Painfully averted with the Amazons, who are all inexeplicably white women, except for the arc villain. While it would have been easy to tie their design to the Amazonian Tupi tribes, one could argue that they were more focused on the Grecian origins of the myth than on the setting.

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: The group of native girls who came upon Tao and Esteban SkinnyDipping certainly seemed to think so, especially when Esteban makes get out and wave hello to them before remembering where he is.

* SkinnyDipping: In one episode, Esteban takes a bath naked in the river, since swimsuits hasn't been invented yet. [[HoYay He forcefully drags a reluctant Tao to come along]], but didn't invite Zia.

** In the episodes leading up to the group's discovery of the [[spoiler:"false" City Of Gold]], the children hear numerous legends from the locals that their medallions must be placed within the ''arms'' of the earth goddess (at the time, the children don't understand what these messages mean). However, once the group actually reach the earth goddess statue they've been searching for, Esteban recounts the instructions he's heard as "the medallions must be placed upon the ''breasts'' of the goddess"! No doubt this discrepency was done deliberately during the translation to English, to minimize the usage of the word "breasts" in the production.[[note]] [[ValuesDissonance In France]], where the series was co-made, it would be much less immoral for a production targeted at a younger audience to acknowledge that women have breasts, then it is in most English-speaking countries.[[/note]] However, when it came to the actual scene where the children place their medallions upon the statue's breasts, the dialogue, by necessity, had to be translated to accurately reference what they were about to do.
** A major one in the climactic episodes of the series. The High Priest of The City Of Gold grudgingly escorts Kalmek and his men to the doors of The City Of Gold and delivers a stern warning about the dangers secured within the city, before Kalmek forces Esteban and Zia to open the doors anyway. Kalmek and his troops rush in to the city. When they reach the main temple, somehow the High Priest is already there, and more bizarrely, he asks Kalmek who he is, as if they've never met before! This, coupled with the unexplained question of how the priest beat the Olmecs to the temple, led many fans to wonder if this High Priest was even the same character as the one that was introduced in the previous episode.
* ShownTheirWork: How well the mini-documentaries tie into some of the episodes shows just how much care was put into trying to make the show fit into the time period and the location.

* UnexplainedRecovery: No-one is even ''surprised'' that Gomez and Gaspar survived the destruction of the ''Saint Miguel'' even though it was literally ''blown to splinters'' with them aboard when [[spoiler:Tao overloaded the Solaris' solar heat ray, causing the ship to self-destruct right next to the ''Saint Miguel'']].

--> '''Zia:''' You gave me your word!
--> '''Gomez:''' Well, I'm taking it back.

* DistressedDamsel:
** Lana, from the floating Totola village, who had been abducted by the Urubus in order to be sacrificed to Pachamama.
** Myeena, Papacamayo's adoptive daughter, who is abducted by the Olmecs.
** Zia spends a good part of the plot as this. Heck, the entire reason she joins the plot is her being kidnapped. First brought to Spain, then kidnapped back ''from'' Spain to South America.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Esteban's alledged sun summoning powers are brought into effect three times: once when he's a baby, once in Barcelona early in the show, and once amongst the Amazons. The Spanish populace is quite convinced of it, as are the Native Americans who witness it, but Esteban himself, Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro aren't quite convinced. During the third occurence, Mendoza points out that the storm clouds above them were moving extremely fast, meaning that a sunny respite could occur at any time.

* AdventurerArchaeologist

* AnimatedSeries

* AppliedPhlebotinum
* ArtShift:
** When the story of the Esteban's parents is told, it's done in a completely different art style.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: The origin and downfall of the Olmecs.

* TheChosenOne: Esteban

* CoolBoat: The Solaris
* CoolPlane: The Golden Condor

* CutLexLuthorACheck: Despite chasing after the treasures of the Mysterious Cities of Gold, not a single one of them ever considers that a ''fast automated ship armed with a frigging laser'', or a ''frigging flying machine'' might actually be worth more!
** PlayedWith: Sancho and Pedro do believe that the Golden Condor is worth millions... but because it's made of gold, not because it's a goddamn ''plane'' in the sixteeth century.
* DashingHispanic: Mendoza
* DebutQueue

* HistoricalFantasy

* HostageForMacGuffin

* InevitableWaterfall

* KidHero

* {{Leitmotif}}

* LostTechnology

* MacGuffin
* MagicSkirt: Zia and Tao
** Some manner of white undergarments can be glimpsed on Tao at one point, though.
* {{Magitek}}

* OnTheNext

* OpeningNarration

* PostEpisodeTrailer

* PreviouslyOn

* SillyReasonForWar

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

%%* AnimatedSeries

%%* AppliedPhlebotinum

%%* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: The origin and downfall of the Olmecs.

%%* TheChosenOne: Esteban

%%* CoolBoat: The Solaris
%%* CoolPlane: The Golden Condor

%%* DashingHispanic: Mendoza
%%* DebutQueue

%%* HistoricalFantasy

%%* HostageForMacGuffin

%%* InevitableWaterfall

%%* KidHero

%%* {{Leitmotif}}

%%* LostTechnology

%%* MacGuffin

%%* {{Magitek}}

%%* OnTheNext

%%* OpeningNarration

%%* PostEpisodeTrailer

%%* PreviouslyOn

%%* SillyReasonForWar

%%* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

%%* AdventurerArchaeologist

%%* TheChick: Zia

* 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.]] Averted in Season 4 [[spoiler:Episode 23 for the Zia/Esteban shippers when the pair kiss]].

%% * 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.

** Painfully averted with the Amazons, who are all inexeplicably white women, [[UnfortunateImplications except for the arc villain]]. While it would have been easy to tie their design to the Amazonian Tupi tribes, one could argue that they were more focused on the Grecian origins of the myth than on the setting.

* GratuitousSpanish: The live-action documentaries at the end of each episode in the 1982-83 Japanese NHK broadcast ended with the narrator saying, "Adiós, hasta luego!" ("Goodbye, see you next time!").

* TitleThemeTune: An eponymous ExpositoryThemeTune (except in Japan, where the theme tune is called ''Adventurers'' (''Boukensha-tachi''), known for its GratuitousEnglish refrain "Try My Best").

* {{Animesque}}: Some of the animation is clearly anime-inspired.

** Pichu was renamed Kokapetl, and the title basically changed from "Esteban, Child of the Sun" to "The Mysterious Cities of Gold". Not a straight example since the later is the literal translation of the French title, and the writers were French so it is as much an intended title as the Japanese one.
** Le Grand Condor (French) to the Golden Condor (English). Interestingly it's also called the Golden Condor (''Ogon no kondoru'') in Japanese. The change was most likely done because "Condor d'Or" in French sounds like a stutter.

* ThreeAmigos: Esteban, Zia and Tao
* TitleThemeTune: An eponymous ExpositoryThemeTune (except in Japan, where the theme tune is "Try my best").