Japan Accepts America's 'Robot Duel' Challenge

Whoever wins, we also win.

America crushed Japan in the Women’s World Cup final this week, and soccer isn’t even really their thing.

However, a rematch of sorts has been arranged in which both nations will be able to show off their true talents: making robots with giant guns.

US robotics firm MegaBots has challenged their Japanese counterparts, Suidobashi Heavy Industries, to a duel, having finally designed a gun-toting robot to rival Suidobashi’s 4000kg Kuratas.

According to ABC News, the MegaBot Mark II weighs in at 6000kg and can fire 1kg paint cannonballs at over 160kph.

See?

MegaBots founders Gui Cavalcanti and Matt Oehrlein initially took to YouTube to throw down the gauntlet.

“We just finished tightening the bolts on the Mark II… and because we’re American, we’ve added really big guns,” they said.

“Suidobashi, we have a giant robot, you have a giant robot. You know what needs to happen. We challenge you to a duel.”

Not only does the MegaBot Mark II have a bigger gun and weigh more than Kuratas, it’s significantly taller too (4.5 meters, to Kuratas' 3 meters).

Yet, Suidobashi boss Kogoro Kurata is unfazed by the threat.

“Come on guys, make it cooler. Just building something huge and sticking guns on it, it's... super American."

Nonetheless, he accepted the challenge, set to take place in one year, with the battleground yet to be determined.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going with Japan on this one. Not only does the Kuratas look sleeker, if cinema has taught us anything, in fight movies, the underdog (in this case, a 4000kg robot) always wins.

Until judgment day, the Kuratas waits.