A Neon Night in Sunset City

A Neon Night in Sunset City is a movie on VHS Revolution and DVD, distributed by Meteor Mash Home Video (DVD version) and Sun Beach Home Video (VHS Revolution version). It is so far the only title to change distributor between the two formats.

Plot
Time traveller Chester finds himself on the outskirts of a bright nocturnal city after an unfortunate three days in the Medieval times, where the residents of a village attempted to execute him for witchcraft multiple times. Upon entering the city, he comes across Cloud, a freelance artist who wears a hat and sweater similar to an Arctic fox, while waiting for a bus. Feeling down after his bad luck in finding work and friends, he gives Chester a tour of the section of the city he's found himself in, an adventure that would be probably considered boring by other standards but is anything but.

Characters
This movie has two main characters.

Chester
A time traveller who came from somewhere. He's been travelling between universes, dimensions and timelines for a length of time he struggles to remember, but it's been a significantly long time. He's smart and resourceful, so he can learn to survive in whatever situation he lands himself in, even in a hostile universe (such as when the Medieval people tried to execute him for 'witchcraft'). The reason he has to keep changing universes is his rift blaster which he learned quickly is essential for his survival and he has to keep on him at all times. While in a different universe, his rift blaster is charging. It takes between one to three days to charge enough to blast into a portal in those exact increments (24, 48 or 72 hours). When fully charged, it flashes and vibrates like a phone getting a message. Once this happens, Chester has to make the portal with it and leave the universe within an hour or the blaster will break and he'll be stuck where he is without a chance to escape. Ever. As his blaster is one of a kind, not even universes with advanced technology could reverse engineer it to remove the restrictions, and he wouldn't want to risk anybody messing around with it anyway, even in good faith, considering how essential it is for his wellbeing and if somebody else stole it from him or even took it at the wrong time it could spell doom for him.

The only way for him to get out of this loop is if he just so happened to make a portal to his original universe. The chance of it happening is miniscule, but there is still a chance. This is why he hasn't stayed put or intentionally let his blaster break, because he wants to go home more than anything.

Chester is asexual homoromantic (sexually attracted to no gender and romantically to other men) but due to his circumstances he hasn't been able to find a partner.

Or has he?

Cloud
Native to Sunset City, Cloud is a freelance artist whose talent for drawing is second to none, but he rarely gets hired to do work in the vast city. Luckily, when he does, he gets paid very well for it, it's just the word about him doesn't seem to have spread yet for all he's tried. He also struggles to make friends despite being likeable. Usually bubbly and optimistic, but his bad luck in both making friends and finding work sometimes leaves him feeling down. He wears a sweater and knitted hat that resembles an artic fox and he loves marshmallow fluff sandwiches (the marshmallow fluff you can get from a jar but in a sandwich like peanut butter)

He is homosexual, but his back luck with relationships means he doesn't really have any other friends, never mind a boyfriend.

That luck may be due to change.

Background
A Neon Night in Sunset City is so far the only movie released by VHS Revolution focused distributors to change between them between formats. More specifically, the DVD version by Meteor Mash Home Video and the VHS Revolution version by Sun Beach Home Video. It is currently unknown why this happened, but because the companies work together instead of competing for sales, it is extremely unlikely this was for a negative reason. It is speculated that it was due to Sun Beach's name and vaporwave/synthwave theme fit better with the movie, though this hasn't been confirmed by either company. Currently, Sun Beach Home Video is recognised as the distributor.

This decision seems to be last minute, as all advertisements and promotions save for the final ones advertise Meteor Mash as the distributor for both formats. The final one, interestingly, mentions nothing about the distributor, which is unusual for VHS Revolution adverts.

The DVD version of this movie is out of print, and copies are extremely rare due to an unfortunate incident. Sun Beach have stated they will reprint DVD copies under their name if demand is high enough.

'Meteor Beach' and other company mix ups
Most VHS Revolution releases get standard DVD releases as well as a prototype/promotional version. They are sought out by collectors and logo/bumper enthusiasts due to the differences between the retail versions. While it does mention they aren't to be viewed by those not employed by the companies, they are aware the prototypes get leaked on occasion and don't particularly mind as long as it's just the opening being showcased in leaks and not the movie/episodes. Some are subtle, but the biggest difference is with this movie's prototype DVD, attributed to the distributor change.

The DVD begins with the Meteor Mash Home Video warning screen, but it uses the VHS Revolution version, something that happens often but not always with the prototype DVDs. The only difference between the DVD and VHS Revolution warning screens is the part about not copying, as it's impossible to copy a VHS Revolution tape.

This is followed by a plain black screen with white text indicating it is a promotional DVD and not a retail copy, with no music and no fade in/fade out.

After this, Sun Beach Home Video's logo plays, and for a split second, it shows the DVD version of their warning. The Sun Beach logo has a different vaporwave or synthwave track for each title, so it was presumably not assigned one during the development. In its place, a short section of Dusk Mane/Dawn Wings Necrozma's theme from Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon is used. (1:07 to 1:22 on here) yes it's labelled as ultra necrozma but a different song is used for that form trust me i played ultra moon twice (When it got a retail release, it was assigned HOME - On The Way Out as its logo track. It is possible this was recycled from Midnight Wishes, which also uses the same song and was being developed at the same time.)

The logo cuts off a bit earlier than in the retail release, and the menu is brought up. It looks identical to the DVD retail release, but only the play movie option works. The other options go to a screen with the same background but out of place text reading 'incomplete' and the option to go back. The ambience stops when going to one of the incomplete options.

The movie is essentially identical to the DVD retail release as well. At the beginning, the subtitle 'Meteor Mash Home Video Presents' is displayed and their logo is used at the end, followed by Sun Beach's logo but silent. There is a significantly long black screen before it goes to the menu. If you happen to play the movie again, the DVD will stop at the black screen at the end and will have to be reloaded.

This prototype DVD isn't the only time the companies have been mixed up. The first 50 printings of the VHS Revolution release still say 'Meteor Mash Home Video Presents' before the movie begins.

Controversy
The movie has been banned in countries where GSRM is controversial or not accepted, as Chester and Cloud, both male characters, quite clearly have romantic feelings for each other. However, bootleg copies with foreign subtitles or fandubs do exist in those countries by people who support GSRM rights. While the distributors have not commented on this, they haven't spoken against it either, as it's a bit of a touchy subject to whether they are either anti piracy or anti GRSM censorship in those countries. By not commenting, the bootlegs are continuing to be circulated but for a better purpose.

However, certain video retailers in countries where it's more accepted still won't stock copies because of the themes. There was an incident not long before the VHS Revolution release where multiple copies of the DVD version were destroyed during an anti GSRM protest along with other GSRM media. The incident and the entire protest was slammed. Unfortunately before more could be printed the rights had been given to Sun Beach who hadn't foreseen the incident and were focusing on the VHS Revolution releases. Luckily to make up for the destroyed copies, VHS Revolution releases are very common in places that don't refuse to stock them. Sun Beach have stated they will reprint DVD copies under their name if demand is high enough.