10 Most Skilled Pilots In Anime & Manga

Highlights

• Amateur turned legend: Rick Hunter proves that with determination, even the worst pilots can become the best.
• Takumi Fujiwara’s drift skills lead him to fame in street racing, showing that talent can be born out of necessity.
• Spike Spiegel’s diverse piloting abilities make him a feared pilot, showing that survival skills can lead to excellence.

Pilots and skilled drivers, all of these characters have incredible skills when taking command of vehicles. In anime and manga, these daredevils are presented as fearless and intrepid aces who stop at nothing to accomplish their goals.

This list contains ten of the most accomplished and skilled pilots in the history of anime and manga. Some of them drive cars, some of them drive aircraft, and some are fighting for mankind (or some of its factions) in tremendously harsh environments. But all of them aim to be the best of the best.

10 Rick Hunter (Super Dimension Fortress Macross)

Had A Rough Start, But His Skills Became The Stuff Of Legend

Rick Hunter started his career as an amateur stunt pilot, who by chance was sitting inside his friend’s Varitech SDF-1 when the Zentradi attacked. Thus, becoming the Skull-1 pilot by chance, he made a fool out of himself and nearly destroyed everything, unable to control the ship in its mecha form.

But the war against the Invaders made him slowly but steadily forge his reputation as a fearsome combat pilot. Desperate to prove himself and with his loyal friend Roy Fokker at his side, he became a member of the Skull Squadron and quickly rose in both technique and reputation. His piloting skills earned him the respect of enemies and allies and ultimately, he became an Admiral in charge of Earth’s last fleet.

9 Takumi Fujiwara (Initial D)

A Natural Born Talent, Driving Like A Champ

• First published: 1995
• Author: Shūichi Shigeno
• Genre: Sports, Action, Drama
• Number of volumes: 48
• Status: Completed (2013)

Takumi’s career as a drift driver began when his father (a former Street Racer) started to use him as a delivery boy for his tofu shop. The Fujiwara Tofu was on the base of a mountain, and Takumi had to drift through dangerous roads in time for the deliveries. Born of necessity, his skills quickly reached high levels, drawing the attention of Street Racers’s local gang: The Akina Speedstars.

They proposed Takumi to join them, though he always refused to be an official member of the gang, he accepted participating in races. That’s how a legend was born, and the world of Street Racing in the Gunma prefecture changed forever. From that moment on, Takumi slowly but steadily rose to fame and eventually, ended up competing on the England Rally circuits, earning the nickname “Flying John.”

8 Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop)

Planes, Cars, Spaceships, Whatever It Is, He Can Drive It

Spike was born and raised in the Mars Colony, and from a young age, he had to do a lot of shady stuff to survive. But throughout his years as a member of the Red Dragon crime syndicate, he acquired a lot of talents among which piloting and driving were his primary skills.

This was later enhanced due to the harsh life of the bounty hunter, and along with Jet Black, they ended up being one of the most skilled (and feared) pilot duos in the system. He’s not your average pilot, and his skills are not limited to flying a single aircraft. He can drive anything: From cars to heavy machinery, to freighters, and tanks.

Elite Soldier, Bodyguard, And Pilot

Sousuke Sagara’s tragic origin story begins with a plane crash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where both his parents died, and he ended up being rescued by a Soviet Submarine Crew in the middle of an undercover mission. Thus, his rescue was never made public, and he ended up being thrown into the harsh Soviet Union’s child soldier program.

Trained as a KGB assassin, he was sent to the middle-west, then ultimately recruited and trained by the guerrilla leader he was meant to kill. After that, he became an elite mercenary drawing the attention of the Mithril private military corps. Recruited by them, Sousuke showed a cold steel determination to complete his missions, as well as some serious combat and driving skills. He is an Elite ace pilot, able to drive from helicopters to tanks with extreme precision, and lethal results. But perhaps, his best talent is adapting to every war-like scenario with ease.

6 Kazuhiro Uchida (Rescue Wings)

Wanted To Be A Combat Pilot, But Found His True Call In SAR

Hoping to become a Jet Pilot, Kazuhiro Uchida began his career in the JASDF (Japan Airforce Training Program) but was suddenly transferred to the elite rescue helicopter course, since some of his higher-ranking officers saw potential in him.

While finishing his course, he is transferred to a rescue center located in a small town. In the beginning, Kazuhiro dislikes his new task, and the brutality of the training program and his instructors doesn’t help at all. However, after overcoming all odds, Kazuhiro begins to show promise, and finds his true call in Search And Rescue, becoming one of the most talented Helicopter Pilots in Japan.

5 Derek Wildstar (Star Blazers)

Starfighter, Legendary Pilot, Fleet Admiral

Derek Wildstar, also known as Susumu Kodai in the original Space Battleship Yamato series, was a pilot and fleet admiral from the Yamato Crew, who started his career in the Space Warrior Training School, and quickly rose as an Ace among the ranks of selected candidates, becoming the squad leader aboard his faithful Cosmo Zero.

At first, he has some serious issues with one of the crew members, blaming him for the death of his brother, but he slowly grows into a competent leader and learns how to respect every member of his squad. His talent for strategy and flying skills were unparalleled among members of the same generation, and his progression and character development throughout the series is one of the best seen in the genre.

4 Go Mifune (Mach GoGoGo)

Would Be An Absolute Legend Playing Mario Kart

A legendary driver, named Go Mifune, also known as Speed Racer in the English version of the show, with incredible skills and near-superhuman reflexes. Determined to discover what happened with his late brother, he boards the Mach 5 built by his father in order to win the most dangerous stun track races, while fighting for his life against the most deadly and skilled pilots.

In the series, pilots not only compete with their skills but with technologically enhanced cars that use hidden gadgets such as catapults, oil spillers, caltrops, missiles, and more (the precursor of Twisted Metal maybe?). Luckily, Go skills not only include excellent driving and maneuverability but also strategic thinking, and of course: A high-tech car with lots of gadgets to boot.

3 Claus Valca & Lavie Head (Last Exile)

Wait, Is That A Flying Boat? Never Mind, They Can Fly It

In the dystopian dieselpunk world of Last Exile, life is harsh for Claus Valca, the son of a Vanship pilot, who ended up living alongside his best friend Lavie Head, after both of their parents (also pilots) were sent on a mission to cross the Great Stream and never came back. Tragedy kept striking at them when Claus’ mother died, leaving the two orphans to fend for themselves.

After burying Claus’ mother, they swore to become pilots themselves and cross the Great Stream, following their parents’ example. Quickly rising to fame, Claus and Lavie become a skilled duo, excelling at conducting incredible maneuvers and lightning-fast turns to overpower his pursuers.

2 Maximilian Jenius (Super Dimension Fortress Macross)

One Of The Best Pilots And Bona Fide Gentleman

• First Appearance: Super Dimension Fortress Macross
• Age: 16-18-50
• Maximum Rank: Captain
• Ship Model: VF-1, VF-22 SI
• Affiliation: UN Space Fleet

Maximilian Jenius, also known as Max, is a cool and collected member of the SDF-1 Macross crew. Max is recognized as one of the best sci-fi anime pilots to have ever existed. On top of that, his polite and humble demeanor, along with his perfect gentlemanly manners, is what broke through one of the cultural barriers between humans and Zentradi.

After sparing the life of an enemy pilot named Milia Fallyna, they encountered inside the SDF-1 fortress (while she was infiltrating as a spy). Fallyna, who was an elite pilot of the Zentradi fleet, ended up marrying Max. However, his story doesn’t end up there, since he kept going in the ranks until he became ship Captain, making use of all his knowledge as a pilot and unparalleled strategic thinking to excel at his new position.

1 Milia Fallyna (Super Dimension Fortress Macross)

The Most Fearsome Pilot Humanity Has Ever Faced

• First Appearance: Macross: Do You Remember Love??
• Age: As Zentradi (Unknown), Around 20 (After Micloning)
• Maximum Rank: City 7’s Mayor
• Ship Model: QQ-Rau Power Armor (former), VF-1J Valkyrie fighter, VF-22 Sturmvogel IIs
• Affiliation: Zentradi (Former), UN Space Fleet (Current)

As an Ace Pilot of the Zentradi fleet, Millia Falyna was a major antagonist to the SDF-1 Macross crew and one of the most fearsome opponents they had to face during Space War I. After being defeated by the human race’s Ace Max Jenius, she volunteers for a dangerous procedure called Micloning, where she is reduced to human size, and infiltrates the Macross fortress as a spy.

Her true intentions were to kill the man who defeated her in combat, but as she spent time with Max, she slowly but steadily began to understand that the rage she felt, was actual attraction, which eventually turned into love. Max and Millia became a couple, married, and broke the cultural barriers between the two factions. A love that survived against all odds a whooping number of seven children.