Tom Nook

"I'll be there with bells on! Ho ho!"

- Tom Nook

Tom Nook (たぬきち, Tanukichi) is a raccoon in the United States, and a tanuki in the Japanese version. He is a special character who is featured in all the Animal Crossing games (He is a vital part of the series). He owns the town shop, which is very small at the start of the game, with the items being randomly generated. However, once the player buys or sells certain amounts of money in his shop, he will expand it, after which a larger range of items will be available to the player. After the final expansion, Nookington's, he will employ his "nephews" Timmy and Tommy who work on the second floor in every game except. In Animal Crossing: Wild World, Nook opens a Shampoodle shop when his shop is upgraded to Nookington's. He also serves a second role of selling houses to the player as well as performing the necessary construction work. His birthday is believed to be the 28th of March.

His coffee order is Kilimanjaro with a lot of milk and one spoon of sugar.

Services and General Information
A raccoon in Animal Crossing feature, Tom Nook takes the player "under his wing" at the start of the game in order to pay off the debt of the first house.

Tom is considered very work-driven, and many years ago he left behind his friends, most importantly Sable, to travel to the big city. His dreams of success are quickly broken by the harsh life there. After making nothing of himself, he returns to the player's town to set up his store. Nook no longer appears to be as good of friends with Sable as he used to be, though the two often mention each other to the player.

Nook seems to have a varied reputation amongst the villagers, with some speculating that he is, in fact, a man in a suit. In fact, when asking Dr. Shrunk about one emotion, he talks about how we all wear masks, and then says that Tom Nook "wears a raccoon suit, but it serves the same general purpose". Many will say that he has a checkered past, hinting at illicit activities- the fact that he seems to have a history with Redd (who describes Tom as a "raccoon in an apron" and treats him as something of a business rival) supports this.

In you can wake up Tom Nook after hours by banging on the doors three times with the shovel. He will be in his pajamas and allow you to shop, but he will move much slower. Not only this, anything you sell to him will be lowered from its base price by 30%. Similarly, prices of items in the shop will be inflated by 17%, and you are only allowed to either sell or buy what is on display. The catalog and other options will not be available either.

Timmy and Tommy are Nook's nephews that appear in the final expansion of the shop, Nookington's, as assistants on the second floor. They assist him in his buisiness. All three make a cameo in the Smashville stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

In Wild World he will give out his Picture if you give him the Safe from the Golden Axe Trading Event.

Game Guide
In the City Folk's game guide this description is given:

"A kind raccoon with a heart of gold (well, pockets of gold even though he only owns a shop, if ya know what I mean), Tom Nook helps you get started when you first move to town by loaning you a home to live in. Tom also runs a little supply shop in town that sells all the basics, including furniture, tools, and gardening supplies. Tom will help you in a variety of ways as your life unfolds, and you'll help him as well: keep shopping at the store and it'll get bigger and bigger. Eventually, old Tom will even need to hire his two nephews, Timmy and Tommy, just to keep his business running!"

Animal Crossing: New Leaf
After Isabelle requests that you get a place of residence in the town, she tells you to go Nook's Homes, Tom Nook's new realty office, There, he will provide you with a tent to sleep in while home construction begins at your selected plot. Tom Nook appears after you are dropped off by the Train Station, and get everything worked out from being the mayor. He now wears a golden colored suit and tie, and will help and follow you to where you can decide where you can place your House. He no longer takes the place of a store manager anymore, but leaves it to Timmy and Tommy for the role of the new store managers. Nook's Homes is the place of businesss of Lyle, who has a little desk in the corner, but is still in charge of the Happy Room Academy. Nook's Homes now sells you customization's for your house, which includes different roofs, exterior designs, yard designs, fence designs, and mailbox designs, while in previous games, you only got to expand your house size and paint color.



Shop
At the beginning of the game Tom Nook's shop is just a small wooden building, but after the player buys enough from him, the shop will expand. There are a total of four expansions for his shop:


 * Nook's Cranny
 * Nook 'n' Go
 * Nookway
 * Nookington's

 After a period of time with Nookingtons, Tom Nook will ask you a question to better serve his customers. Based on the answer you give, Nookingtons can close and reopen as a previous store to better suit your needs. Periodically, after the first questioning, Tom Nook will ask again, and the player can change their store again. This event only happens in City Folk.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Tom Nook appears as a Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Description:

"This guy's the friendly neighborhood shopkeeper who kindly helps the player set up his or her first house. He has a nose for business, and his customer service is second to none. During the course of the game, his store starts as a corner shop, expands to become a convenience store, and finally becomes a thriving supermarket and stalk market."

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Tom Nook also appears in the sequel to Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in the background of the Animal Crossing themed stage Smashville.

Tom Nook appeared in as the town shop owner, just as he does in the games. Like also in the games he helped Ai settle into town by making her work.

Monopoly
Tom Nook also appears in the 2010 Nintendo Collector's Edition of Monopoly with K.K. Slider and Rosie in the light blue grids. He is worth 120 US dollars on the game board, the highest of the Animal Crossing characters that appear in the game.

Stories
Sometimes, upon entering his store, he will appear in thought, and may tell you a story when approached:

"...Well, actually, I was just thinking about the good old days, hm?

I know it seems that the world is my oyster, what with my fine shop...

But in my childhood, I lived the kind of life you couldn't even imagine!

Yes, yes, but this was all some time ago, but this was all some time ago, before I moved to this town, hm?

Of course, I was born in our lovely , but I moved away for a time...

Yes, yes, the city years, I like to call them. I was a raccoon of action, hm?

The big city certainly had its charms...but it had its pitfalls, as well.

Indeed, I had to endure certain hardships that I've never spoken of, hm?

...Hard to believe, yes? You're probably asking yourself, what the heck is Nook talking about, hm?

For now, , maybe it's best that we forget we ever talked about this."

Aliases
Tom Nook is most commonly referred to as just "Nook" by the fans of the series.

Some fans joke around and give him names such as "The Loan Shark", referring to the fact that Tom Nook gives away what seems to be an infinite amount of loans to the player that he or she must pay off.

Redd refers to him as a "racoon in an apron."

In Animal Crossing, Pelly refers to him as "Mr. Nook" when you chose to pay your loan.

In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Isabelle refers to Nook as the Real Estate Agent.

Also in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Saharah calls Tom Nook "King Nook" when you interact with Saharah.

His English name is derived from "Tanuki" (often written as Tanooki in English), whereas his Japanese name, Tanukichi, is a mix between Tanuki and the Japanese word, kechi, meaning "stingy."