http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/6/8899879/giant-robot-duel-megabots-kuratas
The US might have just beaten Japan at soccer in the Women's World Cup, but the Japanese are already moving onto another great sport: giant robot fighting. Japanese company Suidobashi Heavy Industry has accepted the challenge from US rival MegaBots Inc. to a giant robot duel, with Suidobashi founder Kogoro Kurata saying: "Yeah, I'll fight. Absolutely." Kurata, who designed and built Suidobashi's 4-ton mech robot, said: "We can't let another country win this. Giant robots are Japanese culture."
Unfortunately, neither Suidobashi nor MegaBots has offered any more details about when or where the duel might take place (MegaBots' original challenge suggested a vague date of a year from now). But hopefully, the two teams will follow through at least to some degree. Kurata's response to MegaBots' challenge also upped the stakes, with the Japanese designer asking if the duel can be fought as a physical melee rather than with the MegaBot Mark II's paintball guns. "My reaction?" says Kurata in the video. "Come on guys, make it cooler. Just building something huge and sticking guns on it. It's ... Super American."
