The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Japanese: 最弱テイマーはゴミ拾いの旅を始めました。, Hepburn: Saijaku Teimā wa Gomihiroi no Tabi o Hajimemashita), also known as Saijaku Tamer or Weakest Tamer for short, 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 seventeen volumes as of July 2026. A manga adaptation illustrated by Tou Fukino began serialization in TO Books' Comic Corona website in February 2020. The manga has been collected in eight volumes as of December 2025. Both the light novel and manga are licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. An anime television series adaptation by Studio Massket aired from January to March 2024. A second season has been announced.
Contents
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 and shunned by the people of her hometown 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, which slowly takes a toll on his sanity.
Characters
Ivy (アイビー, Aibī)
Voiced by: Aina Suzuki (drama CD, anime) (Japanese); Reshel Mae (English)
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, which is seen as the root of all evil bent on sending nothing but misfortune to the entire village, and thus she is hated and tormented by both her family-(who used to be supportive and caring towards her before the discovery of her no-Star skills) and the villagers 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 died. 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. Unknown to villagers nor the headman who enforced bigotry, no stars meant the skill did not have a limit. Ivy is actually the most capable Tamer of all.
She names her familiars after Japanese words, which are suggested by her past self.
Sora (ソラ)
Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura (drama CD, anime) (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)
Sora is a slime monster whom 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 (シエル, Shieru)
Voiced by: Anna Mugiho (Japanese); Ray Hurd (English)
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.
Media
Light novels
Written by Honobonoru500, the series began serialization on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on August 9, 2018. 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. It has been collected in seventeen volumes as of July 2026. The light novel is licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Tou Fukino began serialization in TO Books' Comic Corona website on February 10, 2020. It has been collected in eight tankōbon volumes as of December 2025. The manga is also licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment.
A spin-off manga illustrated by Amamori, centered around the characters in a school setting, was serialized on the same website from November 21, 2022 to August 19, 2024. The chapters were collected into three tankōbon volumes.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced in November 2022. 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 aired from January 12 to March 29, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Hate no Nai Tabi" (果てのない旅; lit. 'An Endless Journey') performed by Aina Suzuki, and the ending theme song is "Because" performed by Tei. Crunchyroll is streaming the series. 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.
A second season was announced in December 2025.