Sound: 7/10
Story: 5/10
tl;dr: After 12 episodes, I have no clue what's even going on in this show. The twists get more and more ridiculous towards the later episodes, and the overall message that the anime tries to leave off with is indecipherable. Whatever the last episode will bring, there's no changing the fact that the theme shift towards the later episodes was a whiplash and a half, and definitely not what anyone signed up for when they read the synopsis.
Visuals: The art style is more moe, reminiscent of 2010s anime. The main characters have unique, distinctive designs, and the animation quality is up to par. Some CG use is present but nothing that stands out from the art style too much.
Sound: The voice actors were casted well, their voices fit their character's personality mostly. Minor complaint being that the voice for the main male character, Mamoru Rokuta, does not adequately convey the whole age range that he is depicted in within the show. However due to the time travel setting, I think the VA can be forgiven for that. The OP is catchy but nothing standout.
Story: There seems to be three main story arcs, the first two of which seems to be the most well thought out, grounded in (mostly) reality and was quite fun to watch as we ride along with the main character, Konoha, into the past, and explore the differences that 30 years in technology and cultural development has had on game development. This is the arc described in the synopsis, and probably most people who started watching probably signed on for this "light sci-fi" setting. Worth noting that these arcs existed in the manga as well.
However, as the episodes carry on into the third arc, there was no longer any cohesion in the setting. Random themes are introduced into the show, such as supernatural beings, and the show attempts to shift the theme to more current topics such as the rise of AI in creative uses.
I really wanted to like this show for multiple reasons, not the least of which because of Tamiki Wakaki's involvement, and the theme originally present and shared with TWGOK, relating to the history of game development, which is a breath of fresh air. However, I can't recommend watching this show to completion. Therefore, a "mixed feelings" recommendation.
