English Dub Review: The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash “To Latome Village”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Ivy and Sora come across an injured black panther called an Adandala and treat its wounds with Sora’s healing abilities, which also seems to level Sora up in some way. After befriending the panther, Ivy approaches Latome Village and must say goodbye to her cat friend for now. She tries adapting to city life and meets several people, including a guard who suggests she become an adventurer and some hooligans who try stealing her tent. She is also given a special potion she can’t consume.

OUR TAKE

This week’s episode is a notable improvement over last week, where the events seemed to be disconnected and happening loosely without much pacing or tension or progression. This one is similar to that, but there are at least seemingly some things that happen which will hopefully be of consequence. Ivy meets a big ol panther, heals it and makes friends with it, names it Ciel which apparently means “sky” like Sora’s name. I guess that’s going to be a naming convention Ivy uses for any new pets she picks up. But then Ciel is let go again as Ivy approaches the village, which was odd to me. Will she meet up with her new cat again in the next episode once she leaves? Will the cat, now indebted to her and seeing her as an ally, follow her into the city and protect her from an attack later on? Perhaps from an assassin from her home village sent to kill her? There were certainly things that happened this episode that seem to be pushing the story towards…something, but it’s unclear to what and how long that will take exactly. And that’s where I think I’m starting to take issue with the way this show is handling its pacing.

It’s clear by the OP, ED, and general tone of its first episode that this generally meant to be an easy going story that you can just sink into like a hot bath. However, if that’s the case, why add this subplot about assassins from her home village trying to kill her for her lack of stars? I’ve seen other fantasy shows that make use of the tranquil and mythical atmosphere of things to tell a compelling story on their own. Kino’s Journey comes to mind, even including a tragic backstory for its title character and being willing to have darker stories on occasion, but it kept an interesting mood to it while keeping a good pace going. We’re nearly half way through The Weakest Tamer and it feels like all of the spark and fuel has been draining out. Where exactly is Ivy going? What is the plan for Sora once he gets too strong? How does Ciel factor into things now? These are all questions I have, not because the story is making me think of them but because I feel like something should’ve happened by now. Ah well, let’s see where it goes. I just wish Ivy would stop naming her pets after my ex, lol.