Critique for Time Gate: Reaper by @UzukiCheverie
This one is difficult for me to critique because I'm not your target audience. The setting and the characters -- they're just not in my taste range, which is not a bad thing, objectively. I'll do my best, but I'm not sure how much of this is just taste issue VS actual problems you may want to address, especially in the writing department.
Art-wise, you're doing fine. You have a knack for creating an intuitive visual flow. I didn't even know your comic was to be read right to left, but looking at your pages, they just led my eyes in the correct direction.
The only two issues I have:
1) Sometimes it's hard to tell the characters apart. I have to actively look for their distinctive traits, such as the hat or that one tied lock of hair. This isn't too bad with Uzuki, as her facial scar is pretty prominent, but it's a bit of an issue for the others.
2) Almost all the panels are drawn from an eye level angle. I took a look at more recent pages to see if this has been improved, but not really. Mix it up a bit! Give those bird's eye and worm's eye some love. Not only do they make things visually interesting, they can really reinforce the mood/impact.
And not really an issue per say, but 3) have you considered using more contrast? There's a lot of flat space (both white and black... sometimes grey) in your pages. You don't necessarily have to add grey shading, but using the line weight to hint at the lighting and the volume more may enhance the visuals.
Writing and story... let's see.
I've not yet been given any reasons to like Uzuki. The one thing I find interesting about her is the mystery of "why does she antagonize everyone?" She sees herself as some sort of a victim of the society, i.e. the last panel on this page. Being average and being the lowest are logically not the same, so there is a contradiction, which creates an interest for me. And not "liking" the main character is okay, as long as one finds them "interesting."
Problem is, that one thing I find interesting about her? I'm not sure if that will ever be explored on a deep level, or if it's just "well, that's the way she is" or even "she's just going through that bratty teenager phase." Two things make me think it won't really be explored deeply:
1) We do not get to see the consequences of her hitting that one girl to the point of injury. Did she get away with it scot free, despite being disliked (apparently) by many? Or maybe she's not as disliked as she claims -- which can be interesting in its own right. But no, the comic just skips right to the lunch break. Doesn't mean I want to see her sitting on her butt for two pages straight while being held up in the principal's office, of course. But I really would have liked some indication of consequence.
2) The last panel on this page. The text is quite poignant, even if Uzuki herself doesn't realize it. But the visuals (the swirly, bubbly background, the happy smiles and relaxed body language) are telling me that it's actually a heartwarming aspect of her character -- AND that the story treats it as such.
Right now, I can imagine her impulsive nature becoming a serious problem in the story at some point down the road, or maybe even at multiple points. And that's good! However, it's much harder to imagine her antisocial attitude causing any serious problems. I get the feeling the story is just gonna keep handwaving it. The story seems treat her external issues seriously (such as the threat from the non-human girl), but her internal issues, not so much. I might be wrong, but that's the impression the comic is giving me so far, which may indicate a problem.
Oh! And this early page? It's all right, but I think the bottom panel is a huge missed opportunity. At that point, him being popular among the girls is kind of a no brainer. Instead of stating the obvious, why not use it to provide a fun twist, like "and I hate his guts."? This would have also provided a smoother transition onto beginning of the next page.
