The main event of the Robotech exhibition held in Tokyo this past week featured the Robo-One Grand Prix event, pitting an assortment of bipedal humanoid robots against each other in an improvised octagonal wrestling ring. Many of you might have seen clips of Japan's rastlin' robots, but as there were more than a few impressive takedowns and attacks on show, I thought I'd share a few highlights.
The organizers were great showmen, with an official bell to signal the beginning of matches play-by-play commentary to talk you through the action. Two robots would square off at once, while the remaining robots sat ring-side watching.
The robots all had different individual characteristics. The Great King Kizer, sporting a demonic red paint job, is the meanest looking of the bunch and when he's not sitting in a wheelchair he towers over his opponents. Dynamizer is a marginally smaller blue number, decked out in traditional wooden shoes and a somewhat mismatched trucker hat. The diminutive grappler robots, Chrome Kid and Garoo, are a little more mobile and their motions are far more human-like than the others.
Check out the highlight reel from the Robo-One Grand Prix below. Be sure to stay tuned until the 3:25 mark where Garoo pulls a defensive maneuver reminiscent of Jean-Claude Van Damme. Great fun!