one4review | On 12, Aug 2026

From the off, you realise Anime-Zing Kids! is a Fringe kids show with a difference. From the incredibly catchy opening singalong, this is something for all ages and immediately feels like a laboratory of invention.

To begin with, you’re in the hands of two professional guides who know the anime game inside out. Jesse Moss has worked for Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?, while Soness Stevens Kitano has been the English voice of Hello Kitty for 25 years. They take the kids through creating voices, dubbing live anime and generally ruling the roost.

Today’s anime was Wheels & Roses by Pearl Low, and the kids are all over this, interacting, creating the script, voices and sound effects. There’s no hiding place for the parents either, who get dragged on stage to do the voices. Everyone is treated with respect, making it a safe space for neurodivergent kids.

A lovely touch is the support of a local comic strip by Tanya Roberts, which the kids give real gusto to and breathe life into. Fringe fare that is similar means the adults can leave the kids alone, but not this one. Here, adults are part of the process rather than just being in monitoring mode.

And back to the kids, because really it’s all about them. They are completely on point, asking questions, taking no prisoners and throwing themselves into all challenges. I didn’t see one kid not engaged.

This is a genuinely lovely hour of colour and noise, and a great escape from the madness outside.

Anime-zing indeed!

4 ****
Reviewed by Steve H.
Las Vegas at Laughing Horse @ City Cafe
Until 30th August (excl. 19th and 26th)
12.30 – 13.15