The first Japanese home defense fighters that went up against the P-38 thought they were intercepting an unmaneuverable bomber, and got a rude surprise.
It was a poor maneuverer. It's high speed zoom climb though was unmatched by anything the Japanese had so it would dive, shoot, and climb away.
Experienced pilots wouldn't lose any energy trying to turn and just try again if they were noticed and the Japanese turned out of the P-38's way.
P-38's were very quiet though and Japanese aircraft had lousy radios to warn each other when they even had them so P-38 aces piled up the highest scores of the war.