Animal Crossing's industrious tanuki Tom Nook has a long list of characters on his payroll. Tom has been part of the series since it first launched in Japan in 2001. Since then, his business and the number of people who work for him have expanded tremendously.
In the original Animal Crossing game, Tom ran his Nookington store chain and dabbled in real estate. In fact, Tom encourages the player to move to different regions and offers loans in every Animal Crossing game. Paying off these loans is the focal point of the series, and one of the only ways to do that is to work for Tom to help him run his many businesses.
Tom Nook is an influential Animal Crossing villager, having expanded his business empire steadily over the course of the series. With the help of his associates, he's acquired the Happy Home Academy, Nook's Homes, the Nook Emporium, Nook's Cranny, and finally Nook Inc., the leading enterprise that now owns these others companies as subsidiaries. By this point, Nook has become the singularly most successful businessperson in the world of Animal Crossing, with his expanding empire necessitating new hires. Tom has not been afraid to hire helping hands, especially when those hands are in need of a job, with the following Animal Crossing villagers having all ed the company.
Animal Crossing Characters Employed By Tom Nook - The Player
Whether they know it or not, players will always end up working for Tom in the Animal Crossing series. Tom offers players jobs to help them pay off the debt they took on by purchasing a house. However, it may be possible that this isn't just a job, but something altogether more sinister.
Fans sometimes joke that Tom Nook may be Animal Crossing's only supervillain because of his business practices. In each game, Tom appears to invite players to move into a town with very little infrastructure or jobs to help them pay off their debts. Tom then offers the player work to help pay off the debt they owe him, and the job typically entails building the infrastructure that is necessary for the town to survive. The "job" Tom offers players thus appears more similar to indentured servitude than regular work.
Though this may make Tom look like an evil businessperson, he ultimately s players in their journeys. The loans he gives out come with zero due dates and zero percent interest rates, turning the nefarious offers he gives players into genuine opportunities to perform meaningful work. Indeed, whether working as mayor in Animal Crossing: New Leaf or as a part-time assistant in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, getting to build the community of one's dreams is a fantastic job offer very few people could turn down.
Tom Nook's Most Iconic Animal Crossing Employee - Isabelle
Isabelle works for Tom Nook in Animal Crossing, having a role at Resident Services in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As Tom's business partner, Isabelle works right next to him at the Town Hall, where she helps players by organizing events, customizing the town flag and tune, and even telling villagers to modify their language and clothing. This goes to show that Isabelle is one of Tom's most trusted companions.
Indeed, Tom trusts Isabelle so much that he allowed her to replace himself and Tortimer in the game that introduced her as a character, New Leaf. In that game, Isabelle takes Tom's role as the mentor for the tutorial, and she also takes on Tortimer's role as an event organizer since he retired. However, she does not actually work for Tom in New Leaf, as she is appointed as the secretary for the town mayor, which is the player.
Nevertheless, Isabelle seems to have proven herself as a fine worker in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and New Horizons. In Animal Crossing's spin-off titles, such as Happy Home Designer and Pocket Camp, it appears as though Tom has trusted her to continue taking on his role as a guide to players. And whether she is working for the player or for Tom himself, Isabelle is always willing to lend a hand to whoever may be in need.
Timmy & Tommy Run Animal Crossing's Nookington Stores
Timmy and Tommy are twin brothers who run Tom's Nookington stores. Making their first appearances in the original Animal Crossing game, Timmy and Tommy have worked with Tom for quite some time, following him between regions to his franchise. However, Timmy and Tommy's relationship with Tom Nook has been rather unclear since the series' start.
Timmy and Tommy appear to be the sons of Tom and even share his last name, but this may not be the case. In Animal Crossing: Wild World, Tom states that Timmy and Tommy are not related to him in any way. Rather, he took them in as apprentices so he could mentor them and show them how to run a business.
This mentor-apprentice relationship between Tom, Timmy, and Tommy was at first theorized by Animal Crossing players, but appears to be verified by the latest installments in the series, as Timmy and Tommy run their own stores in those games. In New Leaf, Timmy and Tommy run the Nook Emporium, and in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, they own Nook's Cranny. Still, Tom asks players in those games to invest money to and help grow their business, and the twins use the Nook name to bolster their shop's legitimacy. Regardless of whether they are related to Nook or are still on his payroll, they still owe much to their mentor.
Lyle ed Tom Nook In Animal Crossing: Wild World
Lyle is one of Tom's business associates from Animal Crossing: Wild World. However, he has not always worked with Tom, and his shady practices may have lost him his job with Nook Inc. In New Horizons, Lyle does not appear to work alongside Tom.
In Wild World, Lyle worked as an insurance salesperson who visited the Brewster's café in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
It is thus unclear if Lyle is still associated with the Happy Home Academy in New Horizons. Players receive their ratings in the mail in the series' newest installment, and if they want to find out the score in person, they ask Isabelle. Additionally, Lyle spoke at length about how he missed his old job as an insurance salesman in Wild World. Perhaps he works from off the island in New Horizons, or maybe he quit or was fired from the Happy Home Academy and went back to selling insurance. All that is certain now is that he was on Nook's payroll at a time and worked closely with him in New Leaf.
Blathers & Celeste Both Work For Tom Nook
Blathers and Celeste are a pair of owls who run the museum in the Animal Crossing series. Though Blathers may seem to own Animal Crossing's museum, Tom is actually the one who creates the property. This can be seen in New Horizons, as Tom invites Blathers to the island and asks for the player to find a place for Nook Inc. to construct the museum.
Blathers has worked as the museum's curator since the original Animal Crossing game. Blathers is hard at work - he is always at the museum - but hardly working - he sleeps during the busiest hours of the day. Blathers is thus lucky that Tom has been able to bring his business expertise and money to create the beautiful structures in the museums.
Blathers' younger sister Celeste worked for Animal Crossing's museum when she first ed the series in Animal Crossing: Wild World, too. In that game and in Animal Crossing: City Folk, which was released three years later in 2008, Celeste operated the observatory, assisting any player who sought to stargaze. In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, the observatory was removed from the series, but Celeste continued to work in the museum shop and on its second floor. She has since then left her job in the museum, which is probably for the best considering that she had a crush on Tom Nook in Wild World.
Animal Crossing Villagers Who Work For Tom Nook - Mabel & Sable
Mabel and Sable are the owners of Animal Crossing's clothing store the Able Sisters. They made their first appearance in the original Animal Crossing game, placing them amongst the longest-standing in the series. However, if they own their own clothing store, how do they work for Tom?
The answer actually stems back to before the original Animal Crossing game when Tom and the Able Sisters met. Sable, the quieter and older of the two, had to raise Mabel on her own and take over the family's clothing business when their parents ed away. During that time, Sable met and became close friends with Tom, one of the few characters she has a soft spot for. Their friendship appears to have developed into a business partnership, as by the time of the original Animal Crossing game, the Able Sisters were working for Tom by selling the clothes they made at his store.
Since then, Mabel and Sable have sold their clothing products at their own store. Mabel and Sable now run the store together, and with neither being on the island at the beginning of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it seems that they do not work as closely with Tom Nook or his associated business partners as they used to. Nevertheless, the story about Tom befriending Sable in her time of need is surprisingly touching for two characters who are regularly absorbed in their work.
Resetti & Don Resetti Both Work For Tom Nook
Resetti is Animal Crossing's cranky mole who haunted the earlier titles. Before the auto-save mechanic, Resetti's job was to remind players to save their game if their games "reset" as a result of not saving. The more players did this, the angrier he would get, with the crankiest of his rants resulting in a forced first-person perspective in the original Animal Crossing game.
Apparently, Resetti - and his quieter, lesser-known brother Don Resetti - were laid off between New Leaf and New Horizons, but Nook Inc. took them in as the leads of its Rescue Services. This is for when players find themselves in spots they cannot escape from. Though terrifying, at least Resetti and his brother are now welcome faces for players in need.
Orville & Wilbur Operate Dodo Airlines In New Horizons
The Dodo Airlines facility is operated by Orville and Wilbur in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Dodo Airlines flies people to mystery islands and the villages of fellow players. But as an organization that is not under the Nook name, the connection between them and Tom isn't made immediately apparent.
The Dodo Airlines facility comes as a part of the Deserted Island Package offered by Nook Inc. It is this traveling deal that encourages players to move to their New Horizons' islands in the first place. Thus, Orville and Wilbur are part of Tom's payroll, as it's his company's funding that allows for the pilots' Dodo Airlines facility to exist in the first place.
Furthermore, Dodo Airlines only accepts Nook Miles from Animal Crossing: New Horizons' travelers. Given that Bells are the more widely accepted form of compensation in the Animal Crossing universe, Dodo Airlines may very likely be owned by Nook Inc. in some capacity. Nevertheless, the airline is in some way funded by Tom, and Orville and Wilbur can thank the tanuki for their steady jobs.
Kapp'n Works For Tom Nook In Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Kapp'n has served the Animal Crossing series since its inception as a transporter of people. Whether it be by bus, taxi, or boat, Kapp'n will take players where they need to go. Exactly who he works for has been a bit of mystery, though. In New Leaf, it appears Kapp'n worked for Tortimer by taking players to Tortimer Island, but since then, Tortimer Island is no longer a vacation destination.
However, it seems clear that Kapp'n now works for Tom in New Horizons. This is for the same reason as Orville and Wilbur: To use Kapp'n's services, players pay in Nook Miles, suggesting that he is involved in Nook Inc. in some way. Kapp'n also has the same function as Orville and Wilbur but with a bit of a twist.
As part of the version 2.0 update, Kapp'n offers players the ability to visit islands in different time zones and hemispheres. This means that Kapp'n allows players to find out-of-season items, recipes, animals, and more without having to time travel. For the lucky players with a three-star island, they will be happy to know that Kapp'n is on Tom's payroll.
K.K. Slider Is On Tom Nook's Payroll In Animal Crossing
K.K. Slider is a staple of the Animal Crossing series. He is the troubadour that provides the series with its music. His widely varying oeuvre contains genres from Hip-Hop to even Polka, with the recent New Horizons update including new songs for K.K. to perform. All of this has made K.K. Slider seemingly the single most popular musician in the world of Animal Crossing.
Not that he needs it, but K.K. Slider is also employed by Tom. On every Sunday in New Horizons, Tom hires K.K. Slider to play on the island for the residents. It makes sense the most successful businessperson in the series is the only character able to afford the price of a K.K. Slider private concert.
New Horizons' Event Hosts Are Also Tom Nook Employees
Tom technically employs all event hosts in New Horizons, as his role in Resident Services means he and Isabelle invite and pay these hosts to create fun events for island residents. The employees work temporarily, as they only operate during specific times of the year. Nevertheless, they are a part of Tom's payroll because they offer services to the villagers of New Horizons.
Tom and Isabelle hold many events in New Horizons throughout the year. While Tom shares closer relationships with some of the hosts like May Day's Rover in New Horizons - who sets the player up with Tom at the beginning of the original Animal Crossing game - and others he is less familiar with. The following list contains the event hosts in New Horizons:
- CJ: Fishing Tournament Host
- Flick: Bug-Off Host
- Franklin: Harvest Festival Host
- Jack: Halloween Host
- Jingle: Toy Day Host
- Lief: Nature Day Host
- Pavé: Festivale Host
- Rover: May Day Host
- Zipper T Bunny: Bunny Day Host
All in all, Nook Inc. appears to employ at least 24 people, which is most of Animal Crossing's NPC roster. The tanuki has to be one of the most business-savvy characters in all of video game history. And regardless of whether those practices are good or not - for fans have certainly questioned them - he at least creates jobs for villagers and players alike.