Jun Inoue

If you're looking for the romance aspect, I wouldn't recommend them. They are very plot + character heavy, so the game never "goes" into actual relationships. There's a very obvious crush between the two main characters, with really cute scenes, but it's not a defining aspect of the game nor does it have much "screen time".
@snowbell55Hm... Mask of Truth might be better due to it being the half where the story is truly "realized" and where you learn all the stuff about the characters and world. It's the true climax of the story, so it has that going for it. On the other hand, if you are more into the casual side of the game, then Mask of Deception will be the good old times that you miss.

It wasn't precisely deep, but I actually believed the characters it presented, and their problems and life, so the interactions and such in the restaurant were nice to watch, apart from entertaining. But with this anime... it feels kinda shallow. The characters are excuses to show a short scene with food and exaggerated reactions, and then perhaps the interesting part of the show: when it ends and we get 5 minutes of a dude teaching about Japanese cuisine.

Man, Isekai Izakaya feels like a watered-down version of Isekai Shokudou. It's entertaining, but... does feel quite shallow.

If you're looking for the romance aspect, I wouldn't recommend them. They are very plot + character heavy, so the game never "goes" into actual relationships. There's a very obvious crush between the two main characters, with really cute scenes, but it's not a defining aspect of the game nor does it have much "screen time".
@snowbell55Hm... Mask of Truth might be better due to it being the half where the story is truly "realized" and where you learn all the stuff about the characters and world. It's the true climax of the story, so it has that going for it. On the other hand, if you are more into the casual side of the game, then Mask of Deception will be the good old times that you miss.

Haha, indeed! I had my share of suffering, as I first watched the anime of Mask of Deception, then the game... and, finally, we got Mask of Truth.
I hope you don't have to wait for long, or you'll go crazy.

Gah - you were so right. I just finished it (Mask of Deception) earlier today and man, that ending... That ending!!! Now I *REALLY* want to read Mask of Truth but seeing as I want a physical copy I'll have to wait a bit to get it which is a bit frustrating as I want to read it right now lol... Such a great read, though, and it was really fun. It had me hooked pretty well towards the end, and I really enjoyed it. 
Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception ending spoilers
That was actually a really good VN, come to think of it. 

Oh and this is still one of the best fucking series of all time
 

This guy is good.....

Happy to hear that! And I very much recommend to have Mask of Truth ready, because the moment you finish Mask of Deception... you're not gonna want to wait and see what happens. Good luck with the epic journey!

How is this? Would you say it's worth a purchase, or? Most of the comments I've come across don't seem to be very positive towards Moenovel but that seems to be due to their policies and not necessarily because of the VN itself so I'm a little torn...
Awesome - thanks! I'm going to snag it ASAP. Just waiting to see what goes on sale during Golden Week before grabbing a copy. Between this and the bits of Tears to Tiara 2 I've tried, Aquaplus are really making themselves one of my favorite VN developers. I also really want to grab a copy of ToHeart 2. I'd made a thread a couple of weeks ago asking for recommendations and that was one of them. 

Like some other JRPGs, it kind of divides itself into 2 games. The first is generally more chill, then ends on a climatic cliffhanger, and the second game is the "true" development. So you'll get quite a bit more fighting on Mask of Truth! (while still having chill sections, do not fear)

My god, playing Persona 5 with the English dub really left me unprepared for the horror of some of the jp voices... Kamoshida and Ryuji sound horrible. 
@ittakuI've heard that Kawahara has nothing to do with the new SAO, so maybe, BIG MAYBE, it miiiiiight not be a heinous crime against human rights.
 
PD: Since the topic of Re:Zero has resurfaced... I'll say that the show certainly benefitted from the week-to-week wait. Its most important arc, the last one, was basically insane cliffhanger after insane cliffhanger, which will have quite a reduced effect when binge-watching it. Also, the whole theory crafting and discussing while the show aired, etc. It was an anime with some actual depth/substance, in a genre that tends to be filled to the brim with filler garbage.

Currently reading Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception, and absolutely loving it. It's so much fun to read. I don't know how they keep introducing characters and giving them enough time, effort, and uniqueness to be memorable, but it seems to be working really well. Almost everyone (and certainly the team members) I've come across has had some sort of quirk that makes them interesting, and I find that I'm greatly enjoying the slice-of-life moments as a result. Spoilers below. 
I haven't laughed this hard at a VN since Majikoi, and I'm really enjoying it. It's such a fun read. I do wish it had a bit more of the fighting sections, since the battles are quite fun, but it's really good even so. 

#zero-Two-Team

Ah, good, good. And, certainly, the first few episodes basically introduce the main cast and context... and then the insane show begins.

Btw, what do you mean in the Gintama part? One of those two "latter" should be "former", right? I'm guessing/hoping you meant the first episodes are the not-too-rememberable.