Tamer. This fantasy profession cultivates relationships with almighty monsters, boasting abilities to make even the greatest hero weep in wonder. One such tamer, famed for the power of his companion beasts, gets caught up in an incident involving storage magic and is reborn into a totally different world as a youth named Varius. Here, he's faced with a terrible change to the status quo: tamers are seen as nothing but the lowest of the low. ''I'll never let you insult tamers again!'' Varius sets out to prove that the tamer really is the ultimate profession. Thus begins the story of the overpowered tamer who seeks to overturn the very foundations of his world!

Tamer: Trash-Tier to Top-Tier is a manga by Niwa Rhythm based on a light novel series by Tamaki Yoshigae and Katto. Published by One Peace Books. (November 4, 2025). Rated T.

Jean-Karlo Lemus
Rating:

I feel so torn over Tamer. I'm a sucker for monster-taming, especially if you can rope me in with some well-designed monsters. And Tamer has those on supply; the latter Three-Horned Beetle and Beelzebub charm me as only a pair of neat bugs can. The artwork starts very strongly, especially the opening battle against the Monkey King. The problem is literally everything else: our protagonist, Varius, is yet another super-prodigy who's been isekai'd into another world by a freak accident (in this case, a one-in-a-billion accident involving a portable hole). His peers look down upon him because tamers are terrible in his world. But he has all of his accumulated knowledge and gear from his old life, so Varius can waltz in, use high-level magic and super-rare loot, and walk out of literally any conflict. Oh—and “experience points” are a tangible part of the world, which makes Tamers even more broken because the world runs on a constant “Experience Share.”

Varius's quest to redeem the Tamer class is unfortunately just not very compelling. Varius is supposed to be on the back step because of his new circumstances, but he always has every tool he needs to just squeak by without any issue. The volume ends with Varius setting off to magic school as a step on his journey to force people to reevaluate Tamers, and I feel like I already know where the story is going from here. The sole saving grace: the artwork is worthy of attention. NiwaRhythm's interpretation of Varius' memories of his past life merging with those of his new life is a phenomenal sequence, and the opening battle against the Monkey King features phenomenal panels and character design. Is their artwork enough to salvage Tamer? Maybe not, but it might be enough to keep you hooked in. Mildly recommended.

Kevin Cormack
Rating:

If there's one storytelling trope I'm utterly sick of, it's the “character with an overpowered skill who everyone denigrates for no good reason embarks on a power fantasy to prove his detractors wrong.” I'm so over it. At least Tamer: Trash-Tier to Top-Tier alters the tired isekai template a little by having the protagonist, Varius, not be a hapless Japanese schoolkid magically transported to another world and gifted with overwhelming (but unrecognized) power. No, Varius is already a super-powerful Pokémon Master Beast Tamer in his own world, where Taming is a highly regarded adventurer class. Due to a freak accident involving his video game-style pocket universe inventory, he's somehow transported into the body of an eight-year-old boy in another world, where Taming isn't viewed positively.

Varius retains some of his items, including a supersonically extending telescopic staff and a magic cloud that helps him to fly. After witnessing the sorry state of Taming education and practice in this new world, he sets out to capture Pokémon Beasts and evolve them into more powerful fighters, with the intention of putting Tamers on the map. In doing so, he experiences virtually zero difficulties, apart from mild prejudice from other characters that doesn't hinder him in the slightest. By the end of this first volume, he's already recruited two utterly broken monsters, leveled himself up with magic skills to the point where he can pass as a powerful mage, and he's on his way to shape the world as he sees fit. It's all so utterly devoid of drama and reads like a game's transcript. If anything, this probably would make a pretty decent game. Oh, look – there are already hundreds just like this.

Look, if you like reading about video game plots instead of, you know, actually playing video games, then fine. This is competent enough. The fight scenes are kinetic, though sometimes hard to follow. The beasts themselves can look more than a little goofy, but that comes with the territory. Other than a startling lack of originality, this is enjoyably disposable, forgettable fluff. It's guaranteed to dissipate from my memories mere minutes from now.

Bolts
Rating:

Given the overwhelming popularity of shows like Pokémon and Digimon, I am genuinely surprised that there weren't more attempts at a monster-based isekai series. That feels like a gold mine that we haven't really tapped yet. This is a series that could potentially pioneer more of those types of stories. Then again, Digimon IS an isekai, and I can't deny that I was making those comparisons subconsciously as I was reading these chapters, despite the rather different setup. Make no mistake, this is an isekai, but instead of a regular person getting hit by a truck and being sent to a fantasy world where there are monsters to tame, we are instead introduced to an expert monster tamer that gets reincarnated as a younger monster tamer in a different world that looks down on monster tamers… even though the mechanics for training monsters are almost the same.

There are narrative conveniences in this story that alleviate tension. Despite knowing very little about our main character's previous world or the new one that he finds himself in, the overwhelming amount of comparisons that are made between the two worlds for the sake of facilitating our main character's extended growth is a little hard to swallow. While the whole point is him trying to prove that being a monster tamer is cool, he won't be able to do that quickly if he were plunged into a world that had vastly different mechanics than the one he was previously in. All this is done to move the story along as quickly as possible, but it yields mixed results.

On one hand, I'm happy that we get to the monster battling relatively quickly, but on the other hand, I wish there were more emotional moments that drove the narrative forward. I don't know why our main character is so deeply invested in being a monster tamer, or why it's so important to him to prove to the rest of this new society. I like the bond he forms with the monster companions he finds in this book, and I think that bond should have been the main reason the story had any drive. It makes me wonder why our hero doesn't miss his former companions more, since it's implied they died or he'll never see them again.

These mixed feelings also translate into the art direction: while there are some gorgeous impact frames and imposing shots, especially when it comes to the monsters, the artwork doesn't feel consistent. There are some weird smear frames and panel transitions that make it hard to follow the action at times. Plus, the character's facial expressions can range from really cool to drunk. I see a lot of potential in this story, and I still think it's an interesting enough idea to follow. But I hope it manages to establish more of its own identity as it goes on.