Why Tom Nook is 'Misunderstood' According to Animal Crossing Devs

Tom Nook is seen by many as the villain of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. After all, he withholds information about the cost of his deserted island getaway package, he slaps the player with a large loan for his services, and then he sits back, waiting for the money to roll in.

According to Animal Crossing developers Aya Kyogoku and Hisashi Nogami, Tom Nook isn’t actually a bad guy. He’s misunderstood. If you look at things from another point of view, he’s actually the hero of the games, providing resources to those in need, giving them as much time as they want to repay him, and never asking for a penny more than he lends.

Tom Nook is a tanuki, a real life animal in Japan, but also a large part of Japanese folklore. Tanooki are often associated with business and wealth, and they have a habit of turning leaves into other things (mostly money). Sound familiar?

Unlike Mr Resetti, Tom is still serving the same role in New Horizons that he’s had in all previous Animal Crossing games. He certainly has been toned down a little, so as not to be quite so intimidating.

But why have a character that obsesses over money in the first place? Well, Tom Nook serves the important purpose of giving the player something to do. A reason to dig up iron nuggets or trap spiders. He provides the game with some form of challenge, in that players work to earn money so they can pay him off.

Yes, according to the developers of Animal Crossing: New Horizons: life only has meaning because wealthy businessmen give poor people something to do with their time. Hmm…
Anyway, here’s hoping you’re staying safe and keeping out of trouble.

Lots of love,

Sources:

[andrex]

Doesn’t charge interest, lets you pay whenever you want, doesn’t charge extra fees for late payments? Sounds like a pretty stand up guy to me!

[Melecie]

as we all know, _"it is not an animal crossing game without crippling debt"_

...i love that quote

[SSBFreak]

I don't know why people still consider Tom Nook the villain of the franchise when Redd is already unashamedly a snake-oil salesman that makes Nook look like an honest businessman by comparison.

[Flygoniaks]

I understand why everyone portrays Tom Nook as a greedy tanuki who forces people into slavery via debt, but he's actually really generous. Mainly, he _doesn't charge interest, _ meaning he sacrifices his best option for profit. That's the opposite of a loan shark.

[RonZhang]

Tom Nook is better than many companies in the real-world though. He actually gives you time to pay off debt rather than order you to pay off quickly.

[memedude]

"he has a bit of sadness to him"
so thats why he has his eyes look so bored all the time

[NamNam-ydhc]

damn straight hes a hero. the guy builds you a house in one day give him a break.

[omnipossum]

I wish he was real. Imagine getting a house with no down payment, no credit checks, no need to have a job, pay it off completely within days by selling things you find in trees... you'd want the same!

[quagsirefan]

The “raccoon goons” was just one of those tanooki jokes, he’s honestly such a good guy. He acts as a father figure for Timmy and Tommy, he gives you a generous loan, he even says in HHD, he says that if people need to vilify him to reach success, he’ll gladly let them. Though, I cannot explain him better than this video-
But yeah, great guy, that Tom Nook.

[edgelord]

I make jokes about him being greedy guy but I really like him.
He's a great uncle and he's teaching his nephews how to run his business and he just wants to provide for his family.

*I wish him luck on his business*

[SaviorGabriel]

Tom Nook: "Even though I don't know you, I'm gonna give you a roof over your head, and an interest free loan to pay it off with no questions asked or strings attached. Oh, and take all the time you need to pay. Also, you can make a simple living selling bugs, fish, fruit, and any random crap you find lying around to my nephews. Work however you see fit."

Everyone:

With a "villain" like Tom Nook, I sure won't need a hero.

[froggod]

Once you know his backstory he's one of the most sympathetic characters in the game. He actually started off working with Redd, who tricked him out of all of his money. He vowed to never let anyone be in the situation he once was in. That's why he makes the houses as cheap as possible and lets you pay at your own pace. And the reason he took Timmy and Tommy under his wing was because they reminded him of himself. He wants to make money, but he also wants everyone to benefit.

[Solesteam]

Tom nook:
A life mentor who teaches you how to be responsible and to get you a job so your not a broke jobless hobo in the real world.

[weeaboobaby]

All jokes aside, I really like Tom Nook’s character. I feel like the role of an ambitious (not a bad trait!) business man is VERY well portrayed in him, and it really fits him too. An Animal Crossing game without Tom Nook wouldn’t feel like Animal Crossing - I would really miss having a tanuki/raccoon giving me loans to upgrade my house, LOL.

[mayuzanevideos]

Tom Nook gives you interest-free loans with zero deadline. This tanuki man is better than so many loaning services

[NeoKesha]

I like Tom Nook. Literally, start of the game was like "You have to pay your debt, but you can pay them in miles that you get for just having fun"
Tom just wants you to have fun. He places you in debt that could only be payed with Fun.

[justrose]

It's weird that people call Tom Nook a villain and he is in actually a villain he's actually a good guy what the weirdest thing do people even remember Crazy Redd in wild world literally the dude sells counterfeit stuff in an extremely high price if you don't buy any of his stuff he will say thank you sarcastically if you didn't buy anything as a shop and the dude is literally in the black market I have no idea why people are saying Tom is a villain but redd is just he is the True Villain

[rexdawn]

Tom Nook is quick to clarify that he is only joking after that quote where he says he'll send goons after you if you don't pay your debt. So that quote from the first game is very poorly framed... You're taking his words out of context. =p

[SnesySnas]

All memes aside, Tom Nook isn't greedy at all, he asks for money because HE built YOU a house, it's only fair, things cost money
Pretty sure that in New Horizon he ordered the parts needs to build your house too, otherwise he probably would of asked for a few materials

[vio_rtm]

Nobody seems to talk about how the villager you play as seems to think it's a good idea to either just show up to a new town or purchase a getaway package while having literally no money to their name. Tom Nook rolls with it one way or another and not only gives the player benefit of the doubt but a chance to make right. Any of his threats from the original game kind of seem justified when you put into perspective just how ridiculous it would actually be in real life to let the villager's devil-may-care behavior slide. Ultimately, I think Tom Nook just wants to see the player become a responsible, productive citizen.