Nakajima's Japanese ki-43 was a light fighter by Western standards. Equipped with just two 7.7mm machine guns. initially and of 12.7 mm. in its best version, with a maximum speed of 500-530 k.a.h. depending on the version, with no armor for the pilot or his fuel tanks, he seemed an easy opponent indeed.
But Nakajima's Hayabusa (Petrite =kind of falcon) had one great advantage, it was criminally maneuverable, and until the Allied pilots realized that they were not, in any way, to engage it in close combat, they lamented many of their colleagues. The video below is from a Japanese film from 1944.