The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (最弱テイマーはゴミ拾いの旅を始めました。, Saijaku Teimā wa Gomihiroi no Tabi o Hajimemashita) is a Japanese light novel series written by Honobonoru500 and illustrated by Nama. It began serialization as a web novel on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō in August 2018. It was later acquired by TO Books, who began publishing it as a light novel in November 2019. It has been collected in eleven volumes as of February 2024. A manga adaptation illustrated by Tou Fukino began serialization in TO Books' Comic Corona website in February 2020. The manga has been collected in six volumes as of February 2024. Both the light novel and manga are licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. An anime television series adaptation by Studio Massket premiered in January 2024.
Premise
Ivy is a girl from a previous life that was cut short who is reborn in another world, where people hold multiple skills and are ranked with stars; however, she only has the no star Tamer skill. She is hated and abused by her once loving family because of it, forcing Ivy to live in the forest after fleeing her now abusive home; however, the local fortune teller takes pity on Ivy, educating and supplying her. After the fortune teller passes away years later, Ivy leaves the area and finds a weak, dying slime; she tames it, naming her new familiar Sora.
As the story progresses, it is revealed the current headman of Ivy's village is shortsighted; enforcing the bigotry that drove Ivy off and ignoring the advice of the fortune teller, leading the village into decline. He brands any villagers who desert as criminals and tries desperately to maintain his reputation.
Ivy is a girl reborn in another world who ran away from her home of Latomi village. She was born as Femicia into a village where people hold multiple skills and are ranked with stars. However, she only has the no-star Tamer skill, and thus she is hated by her family for it, forcing Ivy to flee and live in the forest. The local fortune teller Luba took pity on her in educating and supplying her, using that, as well as her survival skills she learned from her previous life, to run away after Luba passed away. She would then take on a boy-like appearance and rename herself Ivy to start her own life, as well as to evade capture from the villagers.
Sora is a slime monster Ivy tames when she runs away from home. Sora was found on the verge of death and is one of the few monsters Ivy is able to tame. As the journey progresses, Sora evolves as it can consume more kinds of potions, heal wounds, and speak.
Ciel is an adandala, a high-ranking beast resembling a black panther, that Ivy tames. Ciel was rescued by Ivy and Sora while on the verge of death, and afterwards they become traveling companions.
Luba is the late fortune teller of Latomi village. Luba was the only villager who sympathized with Ivy over her being a starless tamer as she educated Ivy in survival and provided her with supplies to get away. After her passing, the villagers placed a bounty on Femicia believing that she inflicts curses on others and that Luba's passing was a result of the curse. In truth, the village chief refused to offer medicine to Luba as payback for siding with Femicia, and after her death the village fell into decline since she cared for the crop of zaro fruits, which is the village's main source of income.
Ogto (オグト)
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake[4] (Japanese); Marcus D. Stimac (English)
Ogto is the captain of Latome village's watch guards. He is a caring and energetic person who takes his job seriously, but easily gets carried away to the point where he regularly gets reprimanded by his vice-captain. He takes a liking to Ivy and takes care of her. He holds the belief that star ratings have no bearing into how successful a person will be in life.
Vellivera is the vice-captain of Latome village's watch guards. While he usually has a calm demeanor, he will often lose his composure due to Oguto's recklessness.
Written by Honobonoru500, the series began serialization on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on August 9, 2018.[5] It was later acquired by TO Books who began publishing it as a light novel with illustrations by Nama under their TO Bunko light novel imprint on November 9, 2019.[6] It has been collected in eleven volumes as of February 2024.[7] The light novel is licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment.[8]
A manga adaptation illustrated by Tou Fukino began serialization in TO Books' Comic Corona website on February 10, 2020.[24][25] It has been collected in six tankōbon volumes as of February 2024.[26] The manga is also licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment.[8]
A spin-off manga centered around the characters in a school setting began serialization on the same website on November 21, 2022.[27]
An anime television series adaptation was announced on November 11, 2022.[38][39] It is produced by Studio Massket and directed by Naoki Horiuchi, with Shigeyasu Yamauchi serving as chief director, Katsuhiko Takayama writing the scripts, Feng Cheng Hu and Yuki Ikeda designing the characters, and Kujira Yumemi composing the music. The series premiered on January 12, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[40]Aina Suzuki will perform the opening theme song "Hate no Nai Tabi" (果てのない旅, "An Endless Journey").[2]Crunchyroll has licensed the series.[41]Medialink has licensed the series in Southeast Asia and Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand) and streaming it on the Ani-One Asia YouTube channel.[42]
"On a Journey Alone" Transliteration: "Hitori no Tabi e" (Japanese: ひとりの旅へ)
Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Li Shaolei
January 12, 2024 (2024-01-12)
Femicia, an 8-year-old tamer who is deemed an unwanted child by her family and fellow villagers for being starless, sneaks out of Latomi village during the night and grabs her resources that were given to her by the village's fortune teller. The next day, she scavenges through a dump site for supplies that includes a map and old potions. Overhearing a pair of adventurers sent by the village to look for Femicia, she learns that she has a bounty on her head, she gets away and falls down a cliff. Along the way, she remembers pieces of her past life, and heeding the advice of her past life, she takes on a boyish appearance and a new name, Ivy. Ivy befriends a disintegrating slime, the weakest monster in existence and the only monster she Ivy can tame, and shares her life struggles with it. The next morning, Ivy sets out for the royal capital and tames the slime, naming it Sora.
Directed by : Naoki Horiuchi Storyboarded by : Hidetoshi Yoshida
Hufeng Cheng
January 19, 2024 (2024-01-19)
Using the survival skills learned from her past life, Ivy hunts field mice for food, and then evades a pack of giant ants by climbing a tree. Ivy sets off for the town of Otolwa, but needing more potions she stops at a nearby village. Along the way, she sees wanted posters for Femicia with a 500 dal reward, realizing that she has become a fugitive. Ivy arrives at Latoto village where she sells the supply of meat she got from hunting to the butcher for 100 dal. Ivy spends some of it buying bread from the bakery. The next day, Ivy scavenges through another dump site to get some potions to feed to Sora. After hunting more field mice, she sells her new batch for 250 dal and buys more bread. While eating, she reflects on how she would love to live in Latoto. The next day, the adventurers Ivy spotted at the dump site near Latomi arrive in Latoto, and seeing wanted posters all over town that Ivy flees the village before restocking on potions. Continuing on the journey, Ivy drops by a river with fruit trees to stock up on food and water, but she is attacked by a tree monster that has killed two adventurers. Ivy runs away but gets a nasty wound on her left wrist and having no potions, she collapses with Sora covering it.
3
"To Those Remembered Days" Transliteration: "Tsuioku no Hi e" (Japanese: 追憶の日へ)
Directed by : Masahito Otani Storyboarded by : Hikaru Takeuchi
Yuki Ikeda & Hufeng Cheng
January 26, 2024 (2024-01-26)
While unconscious, Ivy recalls her upbringing at Latomi. She had a loving family and loved animals that made her want to become a tamer. But when it came time for her appraisal, she was discovered to be a starless tamer, and in light of this news, her family and fellow villagers turned her into an outcast. Femicia ran away and ran into the village's fortune teller Luba, who sympathized with her. She learned her survival skills through Luba, and she receives a book filled with knowledge about the world, as well as a magical bag that can store items in another dimension using magic from Luba. Sometime later, Luba passed away and believing that Femicia laid a curse on Luba that killed her, the village leader orders a manhunt to ensure that she is dead. After secretly hearing about the manhunt, Femicia grabbed her stuff that Luba gave her and fled the village. Ivy wakes up with her arm healed thanks to Sora's regenerative powers, and Sora can now make squealing noises.
4
"Towards an Unexpected Situation" Transliteration: "Omowanu Jitai e" (Japanese: 思わぬ事態へ)
Kenichi Higaki
Li Shaolei
February 2, 2024 (2024-02-02)
Running low on potions, Ivy visits a dump site and learns that Sora can now consume red potions after previously consuming only blue potions. With Sora consuming potions at an unsustainable rate that Ivy has Sora fall asleep by telling a bedtime story. The next day, Sora sets a trap to capture a field mouse, but ends up capturing a snake instead. Shortly afterward, Ivy spots a merchant group brutally killed. Ivy arrives at Latom village where she reports the incident to the town hall, and adventurers are dispatched to deal with the culprits. Afterwards, she sells the snake to an apothecary, earning three gidal (worth 3,000 dal total). Ivy goes to another dump site where she finds several discarded magic bags and tries to find a way to utilize them to increase her storage. One of the adventurers returns to inform Ivy that thanks to her tip, the adventurers are dealing with the ogres and the ogre king who attacked the merchants. Ivy collects her tip reward from the town hall of five gidal for info on the deceased people and two ladal (worth 20 gidal or 20,000 dal total) for info on high-ranked monsters. That night, Ivy decides to stay in Latom until the hunt is over and plans to visit Latome next.
On her way to Latome, Ivy and Sora spot a critically-wounded adandala, a high-level black panther-like beast that adventurers are advised to avoid fighting at all costs. Sora heals its wounds and the adandala befriends Ivy, who she names Ciel. As Ivy approaches Latome, Ciel goes off and hides in the forest, and then she sees a man trying to enter Latome get treated roughly by the captain of the village watch guards, Ogto, after he is caught trying to smuggle illegal booze into town. Scared by Ogto's intimidating presence after he calls her out, Ivy tells him that she is from Latomi, with Ogto responding with news that her hometown has recently fallen on hard times, as well as suggesting that she becomes an adventurer. Ivy enters the village and sees the butcher, who warns her about the nonoshi, a giant boar-like beast, lurking around town. With sleeping in the forest too dangerous, Ivy settles on sleeping at a campground inside the village for adventurers. Ivy decides to buy a tent with the money she earned in Latom. She runs into Ogto and his vice-captain Vellivera, who take her to Lagg's shop to buy a used tent for five gidal. Ivy pitches her new tent, and afterwards a party led by the tent's previous owner Joya harasses Ivy, accusing her of stealing it from him. A watch guard comes to Ivy's aid and calls on his fellow guards to apprehend Joya's party knowing that Ivy legitimately bought the tent. As an apology, the guard gives Ivy a special potion that Sora wants to consume, but Ivy does not allow it to.
Ivy starts the day by going hunting with Ciel catching nine game rabbits, which she sells to the butcher for 855 dal. Afterwards, Ivy comes across a peddler selling zaro fruits, which only grows in Latomi and is the village's main source of income. The peddler explains the troubles going on in Latomi as Luba used her fortune telling talent to take care of the zaro crop, but after her death attempts to cultivate it failed. She is also told that the village chief offered no treatment to Luba when she fell ill as retaliation for helping Femicia. That night, Ivy remembers what Luba told her about finding people she can trust, and how the people at Latome are nice. The next day, Ivy is ambushed by two members of Joya's party, but they are defeated by Ciel. Afterwards, Ogto tells Ivy that all four members of Joya's party are wanted criminals and the two who attacked her are murderers who have evaded capture due to their sprinter skill, and for helping the guards apprehend the two murderers that Ivy is given a reward of two ladal and three gidal (23,000 dal total). Ogto takes Ivy to the trade guild to open a bank account to store her money, and then treats her to a dinner of nonoshi skewers. Ogto asks Ivy about her skill revealing that she is a tamer, but not telling him that she is starless as Ogto explains that even those with the lowest ranking can find success. The next day, Ivy leaves Latome for the town next to the royal capital with Ogto and Vellivera sending her off. After Ivy leaves, Vellivera tells Ogto that Ivy is likely that missing person unaccounted for, but despite knowing this the guards view her as a wounded child in need of help.
7
"On the Path to Adventure" Transliteration: "Bōken no Michi e" (Japanese: 冒険の道へ)
Directed by : Studio Massket Storyboarded by : Masahiko Ōkura
Li Shaolei
February 23, 2024 (2024-02-23)
Ivy and Sora set out for Otolwa and meet up with Ciel and camp out together. The next day, Ivy spots a mysterious figure that gives her chills before it quickly vanishes. Ivy travels through a canyon and gets attacked by ogres, causing her to get separated from Ciel. While fleeing the ogres, Ivy gets caught in one of the traps set out by a party of adventurers called the Blazing Sword consisting of the leader Seyzelk, the blind warrior Nouga, the archer Shifale, and the fire user Lattrua, while the tamer Meela from the Green Gale party is with them. Ivy travels with the Blazing Sword to a campsite for adventurers near Otolwa, and before entering Ivy instructs Ciel to hide. Ivy enters the campsite and helps Lattrua make dinner for the party, which is well-received. Lattrua shows off his fire skill to make fireworks. Using experiences from her past life Ivy uses metals that Meela gathered to make colorful fireworks and put on a show for the campsite. After dinner, the party cleans the dishes and head out to their tents to go to sleep. In the Blazing Sword's tent, the party members talk about the rough shape Ivy is in seeing that she has been traveling alone and realizes that Ivy is trying to be as useful as she can.
8
"To a Dangerous Town" Transliteration: "Kiken'na Machi e" (Japanese: 危険な町へ)
TBA
TBA
March 1, 2024 (2024-03-01)
As Ivy gather discarded potions from the campground's dump site, she is approached by Meela, asking her about disintegrating slimes that Sora is. Her reply about their value triggers the same chills Ivy felt earlier. That night, Ivy cooks dinner and is introduced to the rest of Green Gale, Meela's older twin brothers Tolto and Malma. After Green Gale leaves, the party Lightning King led by Borolda arrives. Inside the tent, Ivy feels the same chills again, which quickly fades when it is Lattrua approaching her. Noticing that Sora reacts strongly to malicious people that Ivy asks about the people she met, getting that reaction when asking about Meela. The next day, Ivy is escorted to Otolwa by Blazing Sword, meeting up with Lightning King again. Seyzelk explains to Ivy that Otolwa is a dangerous town where a criminal organization is abducting people to sell to slavery and have eluded law enforcement, and a lone child is an easy target. Behind a sound-blocking barrier, Ivy explains to the parties about the chills she felt, and that Meela has a dark side but is reluctant to show Sora to prove her accusation. The next morning, the parties gather and tell Ivy that her suspicion is justified after Lightning King member Rickbert followed Meela around that night, noticing that Green Gale was having a conversation with an out-of-town merchant behind a sound-blocking barrier. Lattrua tells everybody that Ivy's effort she put into cooking meals is why Blazing Sword trusts her, and having gained the trust of the parties, Ivy shows Sora to them, with Blazing Sword and Lightning King promising to keep Sora a secret.
9
"To Confront the Organization" Transliteration: "Soshiki to no Taiketsu e" (Japanese: 組織との対決へ)
