The Mysterious Cities of Gold

Just got back from watching part of The Mysterious Cities of Gold with James. It's by far my favorite cartoon series ever, and possible my favorite television series, period. A joint French-Japanese production, it aired several times on Nickelodeon back in 1985-1987. For people of a certain age, like me, it was our first introduction to the world of anime. And what an introduction.

The show is set in Peru at the time of Pizarro's conquest of the Incas, circa 1532. It follows the adventures of a Spanish boy and an Inca girl searching for El Dorado, the City of Gold, to which they alone carry the key. The plot of the show is pretty fanciful (sometimes echoing Stargate, even) but the settings are very much grounded in reality. All of the historical figures are real, and the backdrops are accurate reproductions of famous lost cities, including Macchu Pichu, Palenque, and Tikal. Each episode ends with a short, live-action documentary about the history and culture of South America.

True, the series was aimed at children, but I find that it's held up remarkably well over the years. The whole genre of "historical-mystery-adventure" is alive and well, and still very much appeals to me. It got me interested, not only in anime, but the musical styles of the Andes that it features prominently. I'd recommend it to you if you dug, say, Castle in the Sky, The Fifth Element, or even Indiana Jones - there's a lot of trapped temple raiding going on here, too.

It has never been released on DVD, but I've got a very high quality set on VCD. If you ever want to borrow, let me know. I'd be more than happy to share.