Hmm...
Unless the Japanese one is a humanoid shape that flies in an improbable manner and wields a katana the size of a tower block...
...they just aren't putting their hearts into it.
An industrial company in Japan has accepted an American challenge to a duel between massive robots the size of buildings and weighing in at many tons each, each piloted by human crews. Youtube Video Last month Boston-based Megabots issued a vid challenge to their competitors at Suidobashi Heavy Industries for an international …
Actually, stuff like Robot Jox and Pacific Rim I think show the differing viewpoints of mechanical exosuits between America and Japan. Japan's view of the mecha was a huge yet surprisingly mobile unit able to mimic human motions to a considerable degree. Whereas in America, we tend to associate them with giant, complicated machines that take a considerable amount of effort to move effectively. I keep getting the impression Japan went for a more flowing and artistic approach while America tended to ground themselves in the grit of war and a closer sense of realism.
Let's just call it a mech and let it go at that. Mecha would just be a subset of the mech (let's say its short for mechanical humanoid exoframe) that uses more sci-fi elements to take more liberties from what one would expect in reality, which is where western mech universes tend to better base themselves (think the BattleTech universe, for example, which MechWarrior is a part of).
...or disappointment. Maybe both.
I get the impression Kuratas was designed not so much to be effective as a weapon but to look good, while MegaBot looks ugly but sturdy. I think this fight will be slow, awkward, and end with a lucky shot sending one of the pilots straight to the hospital / grave – kind of like UFC fights, really.