The Mysterious Cities of Gold, also known as Esteban and the Seven Cities of Gold or abbreviated to MCoG, is an animated television series co-produced by DiC Entertainment and Studio Pierrot first shown in 1982. The series comprises 39 episodes told in a single continuous narrative.
The story is set in 1532. A young Spanish boy named Esteban joins a voyage to the New World in search of the lost Cities of Gold. He hopes to find his father, from whom he was separated on being rescued from a sinking ship by Magellan's expedition. On arrival in South America Esteban and his companions begin uncovering evidence relating to the Cities of Gold and various ancient technologies, and also become deeply embroiled in a conflict between the Spanish, the various native populations and later, a strange race called the Olmecs.
The programme was originally shown in two different versions, under different titles. Its first airing was as Taiyō no Ko Esuteban in Japan in 1982, and was then followed by its first French showing as Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or in 1983. The French version was subsequently redubbed and distributed to many different countries throughout the world. The series was later released to VHS and DVD in French and Japanese. A long-running confusion over the rights to produce and distribute the series in English ended in 2007, and an English DVD release is planned for 2008.
A film version of the story is to be produced by the Movie Plus Group in 2008.
