Japan has accepted a challenge from the US to send their giant, piloted robots to battle next year

IT’S the fight the world has been waiting for. Japan and the US will take their historic rivalry to the giant robot-fighting arena in an epic battle next year.

PREPARE yourselves for a droid battle of epic proportions.

Two giant, piloted robots are set to go head-to-head a live-action duel after Japan’s Suidobashi Heavy Industry accepted a challenge from younger US counterpart MegaBots.

So while the US may have just trumped Japan in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, robo-wars could tell a different story in this ongoing historic rivalry between the two global powers.

The engineers behind MegaBots last week posted a video to YouTube daring Suidobashi’s Kurutas robot to fight.

Proud fathers ... The MegaBots engineers stand beside their 4.5m tall creation.

In the clip, the duo go full-on Team USA wearing aviator sunglasses and draped in US flags to show off their 4.5m tall, 5400kg beast dubbed Mark II.

And in true American style, they flaunt their guns (firearms, not biceps) capable of firing mega-paintballs at speeds of 160km/h.

“You have a giant robot, we have a giant robot. We have a duty to the science fiction lovers of this world to fight them to the death,” they say in the caption.

“Prepare yourselves, and name the battlefield. In one year, we fight.”

And to the delight of tech-heads the world over, Suidobashi’s CEO Kogoro Kurata responded in his own video — chucking in a few friendly jabs trash-talking his opponents.

“Yeah, I’ll fight. Absolutely,” Kuruta says.

In the workshop ... A Suidobashi worker builds a bot.

“We can’t let another country win this. Giant robots are Japanese culture.

“But my response? Come on guys, make it cooler. It’s ... super American.”

But he stressed he would only send his cutting-edge 4kg robot to battle on one condition: that melee combat be involved. It appears he’s not going to let this turn into an American trigger-happy fight.

“If we’re gonna win this, I want to punch them to scrap and knock them down to do it,” Kuruta says.

It’s on ... Kogoro Kuruta pulls no punches.

While the Kurutas bot is slightly smaller, weighing 4000kg and standing 3.8m tall, it moves on wheels instead of tanklike tracks, fires BB gun bullets with advanced targeting and carries one instead of two pilots.

Kuruta finishes by telling Megabots: “Organise the duel. We’ll be there.”

WOULD YOU WATCH A GIANT ROBOT FIGHT? Tell us below.

Whatever happens, this will be a blockbuster fight not to be missed.

Robot competitions are not new, but this is being considered as the first clash of its kind involving massive, piloted, armoured machines each worth more than $1 million.

And if this is a true fight to the death, there can only be one robot left standing.

While the finer details are yet to be announced, it’ll hopefully be coming to an arena — or screen — near you about this time next year.

Twitter: @sopphie

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