Esteban and the Mysterious Cities of Gold - The 1982 anime series

November 18, 2020

Esteban and the mysterious cities of gold (in the Japanese original: 太陽の子エステバン Taiyo no Ko Esteban, literally “Esteban, son of the sun”, in French Les Mystérieuses Cités d'or) is a Franco-Japanese animated series co-produced by DiC Audiovisuel and Studio Pierrot.

Set in 1532, the series follows the adventures of a young Spanish boy named Esteban who joins a journey to the New World in search of the lost Seven Golden Cities and his father.

The series originally aired in Japan and the French version, modified to have a different characterization and music, was subsequently re-released and distributed in many different countries around the world. It is currently licensed for English language home video release in the UK, Australia and North America by Fabulous Films.

History

Esteban and the mysterious cities of gold

In 1532 a Spanish orphan named Esteban joins Mendoza, a navigator, and his associates Sancho and Pedro, in their search for one of the seven golden cities in the New World, hoping to find his father. They are joined in their search by Zia, an Inca girl (who was kidnapped by Gomez, Gaspard, Perez and Mendoza), and Tao, the last descendant of the sunken empire of Mu (Hiva in the English dub).

The series is a mix of ancient South American history, archeology and science fiction. Travelers meet Maya, Inca and Olmecs on their journey. They discover many lost technological wonders of the Mu Empire, including a solar-powered ship (the Solaris) and The Golden Condor, a huge solar-powered ornithopter (mechanical bird) that can travel considerable distances only under the sun's energy. . They are constantly pursued by the antagonists Gomez and Gaspard, who are also in search of the Golden Cities.

The Seven Cities of Gold were built by the Emperor of Hiva for fear of a global war that would destroy all civilization. Such a war broke out, destroying the empires of Mu and Atlantis when they used the "Weapons of the Sun". [4] The Seven Cities of Gold hold copies of books in their "Universal Libraries" and powerful artifacts, including the "Great Legacy", a portable fusion reactor. Other elements of this technology appear in unexpected places, such as the Solaris in Tao's home island, Esteban and Zia's medallions as keys to the Cities, or the vase of Tao as an important piece of the Great Legacy.

Reminiscences of this ancient history are present in the Inca legends written on quipu d'oro, which only Zia can read. This triggers an obsessive search for the Golden Cities by the Spaniards Mendoza, Gomez, Gaspard and Francisco Pizarro.

Esteban searches for his long-lost father and is linked to Mendoza, who rescued Esteban from a sinking ship when he was a child. Esteban appears to have a magical ability to bring up the Sun, which proves to be an invaluable asset throughout the series. Aunt is also looking for her father, from whom she was taken when she was seven and brought to Spain as a gift to the princess. He has a locket just like the one Esteban wears.

Tao looks for signs of his ancestors. He possesses an encyclopedia of their lost technology and a mysterious vessel which, according to legend, only the High Priest of the City of Gold can open and is revealed to be the cooling or control system of the Great Legacy. Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro are motivated by their quest for gold, even though Mendoza appears to be genuinely fond of the three children.

The Olmecs are the descendants of the survivors of the global war who hid under their mountain. Only their elite managed to survive, suspended in cryogenic lethargy. The Olmecs do not appear to be human, or if they were once human, it is implied that they are horribly mutated by the aftermath of the nuclear war that destroyed their ancestors. They are short, thin, and have pointed ears and enlarged frontal bones. They are very intelligent but devious and selfish.

Led by their king, Menator, the Olmecs seek an artifact called the "Great Legacy" to power their cryogenic systems, as well as samples of healthy cells from children to fight their mutations and sterility. Their technology is generally inferior to that of the modern age and they use weapons such as spears and swords. They retain some elements of their advanced technological heritage, such as stasis and the medical technology used to keep the elite of the Olmecs in suspended animation until an opportunity presents itself where they can be revived, powered by what appears to be a system of geothermal energy.

This power system is destroyed in an escape from the children and Mendoza, starting a frantic search by the Olmecs for the core of the fusion reactor (the Great Treasure) hidden in the City of Gold. They also have a single flying machine that appears to use technology very similar to that of the Golden Condor. It is armed with some kind of particle beam or focused heat weapon of great power.

Eventually the Olmecs manage, at great cost, to take control of the Great Heritage. It begins to melt without the restraint provided by the vase of Tao. The resulting earthquakes and volcanism destroy the City of Gold. A world-threatening collapse is averted by the personal sacrifice of Esteban's father who, as High Priest of the Cities, is presumed to have died after replacing the jar. At the end of the series Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro, having recovered some gold before the destruction of the city, return to Spain, while Esteban and his friends cross the Pacific on the golden condor in search of the remaining cities.

Characters

Esteban

Esteban (エステバン, Esuteban) (voiced by: Masako Nozawa (Japanese); Shiraz Adam (English)) - An orphan who was rescued at sea as a child ten years ago by the Spanish navigator Mendoza. Wear one of the two solar medallions. He dreams of adventure and is extremely impulsive. Esteban has a fear of heights which is exacerbated by the people of Barcelona who believe he is the "Son of the Sun" and hoist him high up in the harbor to summon the sun to help departing ships. He joins the Spaniards in their search for one of the Seven Golden Cities in the New World, hoping to find his father.

Lia (シア, Shia) (voiced by: Mami Koyama (Japanese); Janice Chaikelson (English)) - The daughter of an Inca high priest. She was kidnapped from Peru five years ago, when she was seven, by the Spanish invaders and given to the Queen of Spain for her daughter, Princess Margaret. She met Esteban when she was kidnapped by Mendoza for Governor Pizarro who wanted her to read the golden quipu. Zia wears a solar locket like Esteban's, with a disc of sun and moon intertwined.

Tao (タオ) (voiced by: Junko Hori (Japanese); Adrian Knight (English)) - The last living descendant of the submerged empire of Mu (Hiva in the English dub). He lived alone on the Galápagos Islands after his father died. He is initially evasive of the company of others when they wash up on his island, but when the Solaris ship was revealed he joined them on their journey. He carries with him an encyclopedia passed down to him from his Hiva ancestors. Being the smartest of children, he often takes a more studious approach to problem solving with Esteban sometimes getting irritated due to his impulsive nature.

Mendoza (メンドーサ, Mendōsa) (voiced by: Isao Sasaki (Japanese); Howard Ryshpan (English)) - A Spanish navigator of the Spanish fleet. He saved a young Esteban from a shipwreck during one of his travels. An experienced sailor, skilled navigator and sword master, Mendoza takes on the role of a leader. It is not always clear, however, where his loyalty lies and is often at odds with the other characters. He is accompanied by fellow sailors Sancho and Pedro. Mendoza spent many years researching information about the Golden Cities, after a piece of Esteban's medallion was stolen when he rescued Esteban as a child. His full name is revealed to be Juan Carlos Mendoza in the third season.

Sancho (サンチョ) (voiced by: Takeshi Aono) and Pedro (ペドロ, Pedoro) (voiced by: Kaneta Kimotsuki) are comical and clumsy sailors who, motivated by their greed for gold, join Mendoza and the children in the their search for the Mysterious Golden City. They get into a lot of trouble and make several attempts to escape Mendoza's watchful eye once they realize how exhausting the search is.

Production

The story was written by Jean Chalopin and Bernard Deyriès, and is very loosely based on Scott O'Dell's novel The King's Fifth. The main director of the series was Hisayuki Toriumi. The producers were Max Saldinger and Atsumi Yajima (NHK). The soundtrack was composed by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy in the western version (Nobuyoshi Koshibe in the Japanese version). Shingo Araki was involved in the series as an animator and some episodes were directed by Toyoo Ashida and Mizuho Nishikubo.

Originally the Koshibe soundtrack was to be used for the western version as well. However, Bernard Deyriès recalled his reaction to the proposed music he heard from Ulysses 31 as he felt the soundtrack was rather underrated as he expected a more adventurous atmosphere, something akin to movies like Indiana Jones. At that point Haim Saban and Shuki Levy had met Deyriès, and they had dealt with the soundtracks of Ulysses 31 and The Mysterious Cities of Gold.

The theme song for the western version was performed by Noam Kaniel, a partner of Levy.

Technical data and credits

Anime TV series
Author Scott O'Dell (novel "The King's Fifth")
Film script Mitsuru Kaneko, Mitsuru Majima, Soji Yoshikawa, Jean Chalopin
Char. design Toshiyasu Okada
Artistic Dir Mitsuki Nakamura
Music Haim Saban, Ryuji Sasai, Shuki Levy
Studio Pierrot
Network NHK
1st TV June 29, 1982 - June 7, 1983
Episodes 39 (complete)
Relationship 4:3
Duration ep. 24 minutes
Network Rai Due
1st TV October 1984
Episodes 39 (complete)
Duration ep. 24 minutes
Dialogues Sergio Patou Patucchi
Double Dir. Sergio Patou Patucchi