CRAB 4 Votes OKay!

THOTH
Both are beautiful entries made by quite powerful contestants. Lovell’s entry was quite experimental, letting the various points of the story be split up and shown at the same time. It’s a fascinating attempt, but the problem is just the fact that it’s quite cluttered and the lettering is a bit ineligible at times. I’ve warned you, Lovell-anon! I’ve told you.
Ellie’s entry was also quite gorgeous. The team interactions were nice, the way the story went with Lovell easily destroying anything in their path was cool and the twist of Lovell’s own brutishness costing her the victory was smart. Plus point for adding the Ignatius cameo over there ;)
WINNER: ELLIE

BABOON ATTACK
Melody’s entry was entertainingly engaging - the team setting up the plans, the DOOMVA baboon and Clovis continuing being an asshole to Melody. The story was nicely set up and more of Xenomania’s interactions are always a plus.
Speedrun’s entry was a tad embarrassing to look at. While he initially fulfilled the prompt, the fact he forgot the setting and made it seem this just happened in Speedrun’s own world hampers his entry severely.
WINNER: MELODY

DESERT
Oh boy, one of the tough and exciting matchups this tournament. Two first-time headliners going head-to-head in a cyborg vs cyborg matchup.
Berry’s entry had beautiful art, nice story and I enjoyed the stuff with Marv helping Berry along the way, really makes A.M.P. feel like a real team. The fight between Berry and HI was also really well done and HI’s quips were hilarious. You really kicked up your gear this year, Berry-anon, nice job!
But man, I cannot deny. If an entry makes me laugh at the first page alone, it’s a solid entry to me. This entire entry from start to finish is just hilarious. HI immediately going for the kill, Berry heatstroking out, the commentators, HI biting Berno’s nips, the KKK. It’s a concoction of comedy that is expected of HI-anon, yet he always surprised you with what he brings. He’s also getting much more solid and confident in his illustrations, very nice.
WINNER: HEAD INVESTIGATOR

TEMPLE
Another headliner vs headliner match-up. And man, probably the toughest to vote on.
Zehya’s entry of a game is ambitious, very ambitious. I love that it’s a visual novel, I liked the story, the sexo images and Zehya ultimately sacrificing her pride over allowing Atta to win. It’s such a succulent meal of an entry.
Atta’s entry however had also such nice storytelling to it. Atta is a genuine schemer and strategist, and the reveal she managed to poison the majority of CRABs to become her servants whenever she wants is fantastic.
As much as I’d wish both would win, my vote would go out to Zehya. The fact that Zehya allowed herself to be humiliated like that is a strong character moment and was what pulled it as the rightful winner in my eyes.
WINNER: ZEHYA


PHARAOH
Good lord, it keeps on coming with the powerful headliner vs headliner matches with kino entries.
Clovis’ entry was phenomenal. Good art, great colors, fantastic atmosphere. The writing was so good. I loved how Clovis had to painfully hold himself back from shooting Debbie to stay diplomatic. I love how derpy Scarymovies is here, just an adorable munchkin. This entire entry was entertaining to read, but what else can I expect from Clovis-anon.
And then there is SM-anon. A comic that is just a fine homage to classic 1950s pulp horror comics from the likes of EC Comics. Much more of a horror story than a pharaoh one, Scarymovies shows us how his powers work as he slowly but surely hunts down Xenomania. But even then, the poor cat seems to just be as much of a victim as Xenomania is. The art is amazing and goes hard, while the writing now feels less “WORDS WORDS WORDS” and seems in more compared to last year’s entry.
For me, I’d say, despite it being incomplete, that Scarymovies had the better entry.
WINNER: SCARYMOVIES

PYRAMIDS
Jun-Ho’s entry was a neat exploration adventure with some nice little comedy. I liked how much of a goof Marv looked into it and the ending with the joke was really nice. I’d advice to really try more gradients in your work, the first panel with that looked real nice.
Marv’s entry has pure hilarity. Filled with funny gags and jokes. Marv is a hilarious buttmonkey. Nice entry and Marv-anon keeps on getting stronger.
WINNER: MARV

SNAKE PIT
Giggles’ entry felt both eerie and comfy. A weird combination I’d suppose. It was funny seeing him try and catch Fluxxo, only to end up in the desert and finding the pyramid and Ash in there. The ending with Giggles once again walking in on a couple having sex threw me off hard and made me cackle.
Ash’s entry was much more in tone to the theme however. I liked goofy little Giggles there dancing and playing his little flute to control the monsters. The action was also very nice and I’d say the ending was also very sweet.
WINNER: ASH

D-D-DUEL!!!
Now this is an interesting matchup. A comic going up against a full-on novella. We have had novella’s prior (from Lovell-anon), but this is the first time we have a full-blown novella in our midst. A daring attempt. I will state that the prompt plays a disadvantage for both entries and I’ll get to it.
Toabyak’s entry was fairly nice and simple. Adel looks pretty cute in there and the ending where Adel was crushed was funny. The big problem was the clear refusal of Toabyak-anon to engage further with the prompt. It’s still funny and I get the prompt may not be that engaging, but at least try to do more with it.
For Adel’s entry, I’d honestly advise those who haven’t done so yet: ACTUALLY READ THE ENTRY!!! It’s worth your time.
Adel’s entry has an entertaining and engaging way of writing, Adel-anon can catch you well into the story and make you engaged in it. The discussion with Zehya and Adel was fun, the entire scenery feels lively, the interactions between Adel and Toabyak are nice and Toabyak revealing that this “ancient game” is just plain ol’ Yugioh got a laugh out of me.
But then comes the dueling part and it breaks down. Not due to Adel-anon, the writing is still good. It’s just that Yugioh is not an entertaining subject to READ about.
Outside of that, my feedback to Adel-anon is to try and utilize more of “, [CHARACTER] said” instead of using the colored text. I know it is supposed to help the reader understand who is speaking, but for some people it can be quite distracting and make the novella look cluttered. Also make sure that your team or some outsider can help you with proofreading your entry. There are some spelling mistakes, but not too jarring.
I also recommend perhaps utilizing an audiobook for those “no-reads” in the audience. But overall, a very nice entry and I honestly am sitting in excitement to read your next novella.
WINNER: ADEL

CURSED TOMB
2-3-A’s entry had beautiful colors and scenery. You really knocked it out of the park with the setting here, pal. The entry was overall pretty nice. It’s clear you’re still getting used to making comics, but it’s already much better than your pit entry. Keep on going.
Smoke’s entry is the first entry in a while that genuinely touched my heart. 2-3-A still having her human self in her mind and the reason for why she was allowed to enter the tomb due to being “pure of heart” was endearing. It’s such a fun entry and Smoke himself is such a fun and lovable little spirit. Smoke-anon seems to really have found his groove this tourney.
WINNER: SMOKE

MUMMIES
I’m sorry, but just over the sheer fact how BTFO’d the Cops are here due to Midori dropping and Nio taking over, I respectfully vote for the cops. Nio’s entry was great with stellar art, entertaining action and hilarity and would have my vote… if it wasn’t for the fact this match-up honestly should’ve never happened. Despite my reasonings, the Cops’ entry was hilarious, fun and I respected that they still bothered to add Nio in the entry as well. It was short but fun. Nio SHOULD win, but to me, the Cops get the vote.
WINNER: DERRICK & GEOFFREY

SANDSTORM
A true David vs Goliath match-up.
Kell’s entry is my favorite entry of Round 1 and is definitely a breakout performance by Kell-anon. Funny from start to finish. Kell’s reaction to the cocaine is hilarious. Just got me cackling for minutes. I loved how the characters behaved - Leo was energetic and more bright-eyed, but still much in-character. And the emotional part of Leo stopping the fight to help the suffering Kell was so endearing. A starmaking performance from a future CRAB 5 headliner.
Leo’s entry was ambitious. A bit too ambitious. Leo-anon has proven he very much engages well in the technical aspects and is strong. But the problem here lies with the lack of focus and Leo-anon focusing too much on smaller details instead of finishing the big picture. In animation, it’s important you ensure the big visual stuff is down well. It’s up to you to ensure the video is clear enough for people to follow what goes on. You have to work smarter, not harder. Be efficient, don’t effortmax. Outside of that, I like how the fight initially looks, pretty brutal, although I find Kell acting a tad out of character. I know you can do better, so keep the scope smaller for the next round.
WINNER: KELL

VALLEY OF THE KINGS
It’s sad that this went to autowin, because to me Ivy deserved the victory.
While Mara’s entry was decent, it was way too rough and at times a bit rushed and unclear.
Ivy’s entry was hilarious, solid and well-done from start to finish. But alas, CRAB is cruel.
[AUTOWIN FOR MARA]

TAHTIB
Henry’s entry was simple and nice. Just a good fight with some nice action to it. Clean and crisp art, really looked good.
Hemma’s entry was really really good. The art was stellar. the start with Hemma journeying to a market, him remembering what his team told him. It was cute and neat.
WINNER: HEMMA

CROCODILE’S NILE
Time Warrior’s entry was pretty entertaining. I liked the entire team dynamic he had in his entry, very fun. Honestly, I like how both entries handled the team dynamics. A plus from the both of you. I’d say my only issue with TW’s entry is the readability. At times, it would take me a minute before I got what was going on. Still, a strong entry.
Berno’s entry was really great. The art looked really professional and the story was simple but cool. You drew Scary very adorable, man. And the end, wow! Seems the Attabowl is going strong. But will he still like her after drugging him? You tell me!
WINNER: BERNO

ANUBIS TRIAL
Ana’s entry was really nice. It seemed Ana-anon locked in much more this time and brought a much more solid entry in. I liked the interactions and comedy, and found it hilarious that the DOOMVA is technically the antagonist in the comic. I liked Ana’s wit, it really came across strong here.
Marox’ entry has stunning art. The entire thing was gorgeous, the son of Anubis was a funny fellow and the kiss was very sloppy. This is the second time this tournament that an artist portrayed a kiss as very sloppy. I liked the idol theme and felt it quite peculiar it took place in modern-day Egypt instead.
A very hard pic, but at the end of the day, my vote goes to Ana’s entry. Was really the more fun and engaging one to me.
WINNER: ANA

SPHINX
…No comment.
[AUTO-WIN FOR RIRINA]

BTFO’D MEDJED
I liked N377’s entry, but the fact he forgot his opponent is quite a bit of a downer. I feel this is also a good example of team responsibility - make sure everyone in the team is abiding by the rules and that their entries are correct.
Gilroy’s entry was quite hard to read. It was very rough, very chaotic. I like chaotic rough art but it was way too much of a mess to me. I seriously recommend Gilroy-anon to tone that down a little and ensure there’s enough breathing space in his entry to see what goes on. But, as he did his one more right from the start, I give it to Gilroy.
WINNER: GILROY



DUNE SURFING [NON-APPLICABLE]
I really enjoyed the entry. Beautifully dynamic art. Very stunning. I loved how you drew Ignatius, he really looked gorgeous! And the idea of him sliding on the sand himself to create glass was smart. The ending with Jugglejack letting Iggy’s panache for the grandeur cause his defeat was clever. The sad thing is that I wished there was more to it. Nonetheless, real nice entry.

SUNBOAT RACE
Bakutsu’s entry was just plain and simple too short. It starts off nice, but it’s just Bakutsu’s entry and barely anything of the match itself. I highly recommend Bakutsu-anon to sit down and think more straightly how he wants to handle Bakutsu. Is he a serious character? Is he a gag character? And what are his flaws (not just personality flaws btw!!!)
Fishimote’s entry is just fun from start to end. Hilarious with great art. There isn’t anything else I can say on how good it is. The clear winner in this case.
WINNER: FISHIMOTE

STOP YAKUB
Both strong contestants with good entries.
Huang’s entry was very good with the art and the story. A much more solid R1 than the cluster of 90 pages last year. Unfortunately, there are still quite some readability issues in this entry. Iron them out a bit more and this would have my vote.
At the end, my vote goes to Houndclops. Strong entry, solid art as expected. The jokes here landed much more as well and the Berlo appearance is based. Overall the better entry in my opinion.
WINNER: HOUNDCLOPS

SLAVES
Both improved on their entries significantly compared to last year. Much clearer, better inking. Ax’ppos-anon came in with better lettering, while Mendy-anon finally brought more of a focus in his entry. Sad that this had to end by default.
[AUTO-WIN FOR AX’PPOS]