The Mysterious Cities Of Gold - Season 2: The Adventure Continues

Haven't watched it all yet but I'm really impressed by the quality so far. Animation is improved but still keeps with the original design look. Voice acting feels solid during the first few episodes I saw.As for the blu-ray quality, it looks quite beautiful. Didn't notice any problems in video or audio. Also, this played fine on my US LG BD player. Haven't tested on the PS4, but a friend of mine who does own a PS4 Slim said it played fine for him. Looks like the set is region-free.

I loved the original show and am disappointed that they've never made Blu Rays of it, but was lucky to come across this. The animation hews close to the original in style but new techniques make it pop more. It's great to see the story continued.

A great 80s cartoon gets a second season here. Fun to see the characters in new adventures. The discs are supposed to be Region 2 but they played fine in my Sony Blu-ray player and on my PC.

I loved watching the original series as a kid in the mid 80s, so I was excited to discover that a second season exists. Overall, if you enjoyed the first series, you will most likely enjoy the second; it is still at its heart an adventure serial combining historical and fantasy elements, kind of a kids Indiana Jones. Just keep in mind that they were released thirty years apart and there are some notable differences between the two.Unfortunately, the voice acting is perhaps the weakest link here. It's not that the actors are actually bad, but rather just poorly cast. For example, the three children actually sounded like children in the first series, but here they sound like adults voicing children to a distracting degree. In particular Esteban, who is voiced by an adult woman and sounds nothing like a thirteen year old boy. Tao and Mendoza also come to mind in this regard, as neither sounds or speaks even remotely like the original characters. Obviously, after such a long hiatus, the voice actors were going to be different, but they could have done a much better job of at least trying to find someone similar. Watching the second season, I never quite got over that it just "sounded wrong".There have also been significant changes to several characters personalities, as well, most notably Mendoza, who is little more than a perpetually angry, scowling, and grumpy jerk in this season. Zia has a more active role and is less of a damsel in distress this time, which is a welcome change. Tao somehow turned into a narcissistic little brat that never stops bragging about how wonderful he and his ancestors are. Esteban's personality is essentially unchanged, despite sounding like a middle-aged woman every time he speaks. Sancho and Pedro are exactly the same, both in voice and personality, even if their comic relief bits are somewhat too frequent.Despite its flaws, I found this enjoyable anyway, and look forward to the release of season 3.

Excellent. Loved the 1st series when I was younger, the 2nd series was just as remarkable. Can’t wait for the 3rd segment to come out.

Hurray! This DOES work on my region 1 sony blu ray!

great

I was happy to see this adventure continue. I have fond memories of watching this show as a kid in the 1980's, and after buying the original series on DVD, it was pretty much as good as I remembered; so I figured I'd see where the adventure went from where it left off. Now the good parts: The Blueray worked on my X-Box 1 here in the United States, so I'm happy about that. The necessary characters were present, their voices were different, but that is to be expected and is forgiven since it has been around three decades since the original series was made. Now what I didn't care for: The original series was an animated adventure, while this new series used a more cartoonish style; the characters looked great, but the character movements were too exaggerated, and character physics were pretty much non-existent. I know, I know, it's a show meant for young children, and I will still show my own kids these shows once they are old enough, but heck, I want to enjoy it too.Now the part with spoilers <Contains Spoilers> [duh]Mendoza is no longer a clever character, he's merely present whenever a fight scene is needed, he doesn't use his head to solve problems anymore.If you thought that Sancho and Pedro were nearly worthless in the original, but provided some comic relief, now they are completely worthless, and their comic relief is VERY forced.Kokapetal is incredibly annoying this time around both in voice and what his lines are.At the end of the last series, Esteban and the others were setting out across the Pacific, but instead they apparently raided a ruin for a map and found a new Golden Condor. This sounds like it was a great adventure that I would have liked to have seen, and why did they ditch the old Condor? Why not have two?Mendoza made it back to Spain after the original series and arrived back within a year of the Esparanta sailing from Barcelona. When Esteban was speaking to a monk and told him that he left for the New World "a year ago," the monk said that was impossible to get to the New World and back within a year, yet Mendoza made it to...Veracruz I'm guessing and took a ship back to Spain quite quickly, then he was promoted from Navigator to Captain. Again, this would have been a great story to have seen.I'm torn with the orichalcum sub-plot, although it does help to explain the solidity of the Golden Condor.I am also alright with the Mu/Hiva runes appearing everywhere.

The 1982-83 series is my gold standard (pardon the pun) in terms of classic animated television series. A sprawling, mythical, adventurous story, sharply drawn characters, a beautiful soundtrack and – most importantly – no punches were pulled at any time. So my evaluation of this continuation can only hinge on one question: How does it compare to the original run?Pro: This is a real continuation, not a reboot. Character design is consistent with the original, and the previous story is built upon expertly. There are even a few well-placed flashbacks to tighten the story. Tension builds up slowly, and the climax is unforgettable. The wait for the next series is going to be excruciating.Con: The original could be quite grim at times, and was all the better for it. In the new series (especially the first half), the violence it is mostly cartoony. Comic relief is sometimes turned up to 11 and can be a bit hard to bear for older viewers, especially when it is supplied by Pedro, Sancho or the parrot Jar-Jar – sorry, Kokopetl – who, sadly, keeps interrupting the mini-documentaries at the end of each episode. Speaking of documentaries, it is not exactly kid-friendly to mix up fact and fiction. One episode the subject is Buddhist prayer wheels, and the next the (entirely fictitious) technology of the Flying Condor is discussed.Pro: The art is stunning and the lush scenery comes across gorgeously in high definition. Go for the Blu if you have the equipment. There were only one or two unfortunate instances when the computer-generated art pixelated in close-up.Con: The music of the original was an unforgettable mixture of Europop, synth and world music. The new music, however, is instantly forgettable. Around the halfway point, familiar motifs start creeping in – all-too-short and startling reminders of how great the music used to be.Pro: At 26 episodes, this series takes its time, courageously defying modern storytelling aimed at those short of attention. It is also more tightly plotted than the original which at 39 episodes visited perhaps one too many temple.Con: Much has been (unfairly) said about the changing of the voice talent. Let’s face it – the original kids aren’t kids anymore, and the Canadian actor who voiced Mendoza is enjoying his retirement. What’s close to unforgivable is that Esteban is now voiced by an adult woman who makes little effort to conceal that fact.Pro: This finally, after almost 30 years, continues a story that cried out for closure – a closure for which no one who enjoyed the original series dared hoping. And it is done faithfully.It is that final “Pro” that pushed the 4.5 stars I had in mind over to a 5.And if you’ve never heard of “The Mysterious Cities of Gold” at all, don’t hesitate to first grab the original and then this. It’s breathtaking. Like “Raiders of the Lost Ark” – only animated and more epic.

Of all the kids shows I watched when I was a kid, this is the one that always seemed to cry out for a sequel, and here it is, so near to a quarter of a century after it was last broadcast on the BBC. I had real fears it would not see an english dub, or a DVD release, but again, here it is. I am delighted to say that it really works, it had me hooked from the start, as with the first season, I couldn`t wait to see what happened next, although I had to take my time, as work and other things stopped me watching too much in one go. I think it has succeeded in capturing the spirit of the original, while there is some character development, as before the characters are not just two dimensional stereotypes, although there are some hissable villains, it is possible to at least understand most character`s actions, and a real story to be told, much as with the original, it was an ongoing story, rather than just a series of self contained episodes, like some of the other kids animations of the time. It is well thought out and well done, not just some rushed botch job. True, it took a while to get used to the new voices, especially Esteban and Tao, but I began to accept it; It is sadly unrealistic to expect the same cast so far removed from the first series, but it remains really involving like nothing I`ve seen in the cinema for many years and fantastic to look at too. To me, it surpasses the Lord of the Rings films, the Star Wars prequels and even the last Indiana Jones film, in that it has retained the look and feel of the original, something these last two did not do entirely successfully, and indeed this series tips it hat to these three film series` I have mentioned on occasion. The only thing that is a little lacking is the music, it is serviceable, but seems to lack the thematic, distinctive style of that for the original season.There are some minor discrepancies between the two seasons, but they have not affected my enjoyment overall. Well worth the time and money, roll on season 3!

The quality of the show if almost as the original , the animation is perfect , only some voices are not so great but the plot is more then interesting and it is a direct continuation of season 1.The show is amazing ! the blue ray itself is very nice but lack some additional option , like subtitles other dubs (I wanted to hear the original song in French !! :)) maybe some speashels features. but the over all quality of the 1080P blue ray is very very impressive .the score of the first season was no short of amazing , the second season have nice score from time to time but it is a shame they didn't use much of the original score in the season only small reminders of the original . (and there wasn't a new score so ... )last compline is the stereo 2.0 ! comme on this is not the 80's any more we want at list 5.1 !! ,, its blue ray you know ....I am waiting for SEASON 3 impatient we love this show !!! (me an my son ) we will buy it .

Developing a direct continuation to what was an incredible 30+ year old animation is, without a doubt, a rather brave and surprising move. The original series is held in very high regard for its breathtaking soundtrack, sense of wonder and adventure, and likeable characters which drove a really intriguing storyline forward. Matching such a feat was never going to be an easy task. Though season 2 shines with several moments of greatness, its confusing audience targeting, poor vocal work and soundtrack, makes it an intriguing but ultimately flawed continuation.As you may have gathered from other reviews, we need to first talk about the most obvious, and definitely glaring, problems with this continuation - the soundtrack and the vocal work.The original soundtrack was a breathtaking mix of wonder, astonishment and mystery, elevating even simple scenes into something really incredible to behold. Unfortunately, none of the original soundtrack is present within season 2, and many scenes are left rather flat and devoid of life; the music that is used, sounding very generic and instantly forgettable. Strain hard enough, and you may hear some remixed cords from the original, especially towards the latter half of the series, as if attempts were made to satisfy original fans, but these are few and far between, and simply does not come anywhere near the greatness of the original soundtrack.Unfortunately, things get even worse with the vocal work present within the season. The voice artists for Zia, Sancho and Pedro are perfectly fine, however, those chosen for Esteban, Tao - and to a lesser extent Mendoza - simply do not suit. Esteban and Tao are now very high pitched young girls, the resulting effect even more jarring for Tao who originally had such a deeply resonating voice. Whereas the original Mendoza had a deep spanish sounding tone which provided him with a sense of mystery, the new artist sounds more rough and generic. Though as a I mentioned before, this is definitely the least offensive of the three worst changes.The soundtrack and vocal work was such a huge part of the original, which is why, even when you reach the final 26th episode, it is still hard to come to terms with.The final issue that needs to be addressed is the rather confusing direction chosen for the target audience. Since this is not a reboot but a direct continuation to a 30+ year old animation, you would assume that the tone and pacing of the original would have been left intact. Unfortunately, it is not. Instead, the rather grim, and sometimes harsh, tone of the original is wiped clean and we are presented with a direction more suited for very young children, with incredibly over-the-top set pieces which usually revolve around Sancho, Pedro or Kokapetl. Comedy was usually sourced from Sancho or Pedro in the original, but in small doses whilst ultimately making them still likeable. Here however, the comedy factor has been dialled up to 11 and the two are now annoying and unlikeable. The slapstick 'Bulk and Skull' antics will leave you cringing, as well as any scene featuring Kokapetl, since you know he is about to do something incredibly silly. The direction is then suddenly dialled back in the final back episodes, returning to more of a tone of what you would expect, providing a much better balance between the drama, comedy and mystery (and making Sancho and Pedro more likeable again). However, the original question remains as to why such a confusing choice was chosen for the target audience, which would ultimately be, first and foremost, adults of the original.So why the high rating?Well, if you can stomach the quite drastic vocal changes, lack of significant soundtrack, and the tone for the first half of the season, then you will be richly rewarded. The animation is crisp, fresh, but deeply respectful to the original season, with all the styles and looks faithfully recreated. This follows through to the action sequences which benefit greatly from the new style. Seeing all the gang again is an incredible experience. You can still feel their sense of adventure and wonder, and this is carried through a really intriguing storyline that slowly builds throughout the season. There are some astonishing revelations, including developing the history and storylines from the original. With this does come some flaws (like the rather head scratching name change of the people of Heava into the people of Mu, or the 'child of the son' into the 'son of the sun') but again, get past this, and the development of the storyline will have you as intrigued as the original.And come the closing moments of episode 26, I promise you, you will not be disappointed and it will have all been worth it.I look forward to the third season and hopefully they can build on what they have done here, as well as incorporating feedback on the soundtrack, to continue this in a very high standard,

Arrived on time and in perfect condition