Monday, April 27, 2009

The Mysterious Cities of Gold - Impressions from Episode One

First of all, I must say that the quality of the animation is significantly higher than I expected given the age of this show. The dubbing is a little rough in places, but also a great deal better than I expected. It's definitely vintage, and a little corny in places, but it blows anything else from the same era out of the water.

I'm not certain I ever actually saw the first episode before, though I'd read a plot synopsis. Esteban, the main character, is an energetic Spanish orphan. In this episode, he meets Mendoza, a friendly but apparently mercenary type who would supposedly 'do anything for gold'. He also learns several important facts about himself and his past.

First, apparently he has the power to cause the sun to shine. Second, he was rescued at sea by Mendoza, who took a piece of the medallion he wore and has been searching for him ever since. Third, his real father might still be alive, possibly somewhere in the New World.

Favorite parts:

It was fun seeing the look on Mendoza's face as he considered the reward for finding Esteban of just 'one gold piece'. Obviously his ambition runs higher than that.

It was also interesting to see how well Esteban can climb for a kid who has trouble with heights. Ostensibly this problem is also why he resisted the villagers' efforts to find him and make him summon the sun.

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