I couldn't care less about trying to judge this level for anything else other than it's gameplay, simply because the gameplay is so comically bad. The fact that it wasn't taken into consideration in the judging process (or it was and it affected the placement positively) is completely ridiculous.

I hate ppl dunking on this level

This level is great and I think is amazing for first place in the gauntlet. There isnt a concurrent theme which is why it seems kind of messy, but I enjoy that style. Good job vegtam!

The more I look back at this level the worse it gets, I can’t really make out what audience this was meant to cater to but it genuinely feels like a product from cocomelon with the way it babies the player and covers your screen with dumb dancing characters and comic book text

Wait, why do people call levels like this soulless anyways? If anything, this level has so much personality to be anything other than full of soul. It's so clear by how many personal touches and references the level has, alongside a fun story and style. Its probably one of the most original entries in its vibe. Feels like something silly a creator like MrKoolTrix (who funnily enough made the replacement song for this) would make in conttrast to the other "epic" feeling entries. Aside from the theming, i think this just generally looks great, some parts feel like they're missing something or got rushed but idk why exactly, and others could have better block design as they're carried by the background and pulses. The gp is just fine, doesn't really make the level worse at all but doesn't significally improve it. The coin is kinda cool, that part where you tap on the circles in general is really fun, handholdy yes but it's kinda fun if you act like there are actual obstacles in the level. I don't get the criticism for the pop culture references and silly vibe, it's a gd level, it can allow itself to be fun and silly and quirky. It's not like hilarious or anything but they fit the style of the level and the song, not everything has to be an entirely cohesive story with great progression and polish to everything. Again I don't really fw the "soulless" argument, I don't think there are any soulless levels, I can understand if you're talking about a multibillionaire company that made a rushed cashgrab product. But creators are just that, people. Yes vegtam tried to pander but i think every artist kind of does, doesn't mean there is no love put in the level