Isabelle

"Good morning, Mayor!"

- Isabelle

Isabelle (しずえ, Shizue) is a Dog that appears in. When first announced, during the New Leaf developer commentary, Isabelle was not given a name, but was referred to as simply Secretary (ひしょ), then named in the June 2012 Nintendo Direct as Shizue. Her name was changed in February 14th, 2013 at the Nintendo Direct to Isabelle, to localize her in English. She assists the player in his or her new role as the town mayor as their secretary and assistant. She is also the twin sister of Digby, who works and stands in the front entrance to the Happy Home Showcase.

She has also appeared in a manga called Tobidase Dōbutsu no Mori Minna de Seseragi Mura Life as one of the main characters.

Appearance
Isabelle is a bright yellow puppy who resembles a Shih Tzu. She has a happy appearance with rosy cheeks and with a white fur patch on her tail and around her mouth. She wears a green checkered vest with a white top and a red ribbon underneath with a navy blue skirt. During fall and winter she wears a yellow cardigan instead of a vest. Her hair is tied up with a red ribbon with bells attached which actually jingles as she walks.

She wears different styled clothes on special events that are held around the town for example, a flowery shirt on the Fireworks Show and a santa-style shirt on Toy Day.

Personality
Isabelle is very clumsy and absent-minded. She also likes to respect others. She is very friendly and does not like confrontation. She is very keen to make the town a better place to live, by encouraging the player to do tasks and Public Works Projects throughout the town. Like many other secretaries, she can be hard on herself when she is side-tracked.



Advice for Living Here
Asking Isabelle for advice for living in the town is a sub-quest the player can do. Apart from listening to her advice, the player is asked to buy a shovel, collect one seashell and catch either three bugs or fish and eventually receives a basket of non-native fruit and a watering can.

Trivia

 * Isabelle has her very own Twitter account, sending news about "Animal Crossing: New Leaf" every once in a while as of May 6, 2013: @animalcrossing
 * Isabelle shares her birthday with Digby, since they're twins.
 * Her English name, Isabelle, possibly comes from the resemblance of her head to a bag of Bells (Isabelle = 'is a Bell')
 * Her Japanese name, Shizue (しずえ) may be interpreted as "quiet branch," perhaps referring to the tranquility of an Animal Crossing town. It can also be derived from her dog breed name "Shih Tzu".
 * Her Spanish name is Canela (Cinnamon), a symbol of wisdom and good health. "Can" (Can-ela) is also another word for dog in Spain, and it is used in the Spanish version of the game with her brother's name (Candrés) as a pun.
 * Her French name is Marie, a pun on the word Mairie (Town Hall) or Maire (Mayor).
 * Her Italian name is Fuffi, a pun on the fact that she is a dog.
 * She claims to be a fan of K.K. Slider.
 * She is hinted to have a crush on the player (if male), seen when they ask her about the beach and on Valentine's Day.
 * One of the only ways to get Isabelle's coffee preference is through her twin brother Digby.
 * Isabelle changes her clothes starting on the second-half of October and ending at the 25th of February.
 * She is seen to sleep in Town Hall and when the player goes up to the front of the counter, she wakes up with a surprised look on her, and then acts embarrassed.
 * Isabelle only has one tooth.
 * Isabelle has the voice of a peppy villager.

Quotes
"Is there something I can help you with today?"

- Isabelle

"Okay! Let's... WAIT, WHAT?!"

- Isabelle

"I must say, I'm a fan of K.K. Slider myself..."

- Isabelle at the introduction spotlight

In other media
Isabelle was confirmed to be an assist trophy character in Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS, on the 4th of March, 2014 in at least the Wii U version. As can be inferred from Sakurai's comment on the matter, she will help the fighter who summoned her by dropping fruit on the battlefield. (This is not outright stated, but Sakurai comments 'Hello fighters! I'll assist you with fresh-picked fruit from my town!♪' She was shown again in the Super Smash Bros. Direct on the 8th of April, where she was seen tossing about fruit at fighters and healing them.