Animal Crossing as a series is doing extraordinarily well lately. In addition to the unexpectedly overwhelming success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and mobile efforts like Pocket Camp positively raking the dough in for Nintendo, the series has become more of a household title than ever before. What was once something of a niche franchise among Nintendo fans is now the talk of the town, with everyone ranging from the neighbor next door to President-Elect Joe Biden playing the game in some way.
It makes sense then that this would be the ideal time to adapt the series into an anime or animated show. The games have within them a collection of ideas that actually lend themselves perfectly to a television format. It’s not a question of if Animal Crossing should be made into a show, but which ingredients of the games should be brought along for the ride. Below are just a handful of these reasons and what they could mean for a potential series.
Shows like Aggretsuko on Netflix have already established that not only would an anime series about cute animals work, but that such a series can be successful and has legs to carry it long-term. Aggretsuko just premiered its third season back at the end of August, and has already been renewed for a fourth season. This level of success is pretty outstanding considering that Aggretsuko isn’t really a well-known character outside of the circle of Sanrio fans (home to characters like Hello Kitty, My Melody, Kuromi, etc.).
Animal Crossing, in comparison to the stable of Sanrio characters, has just as much to offer if not more. It’s also far more well-known currently and would now have a pre-installed fanbase due to the riotous success of recent games. Imagine Tom Nook or one of his adorable children animated in the same style as Aggretsuko; it’s almost a perfect fit. Nintendo could even hire the same studio that worked on Aggretsuko if they didn’t feel comfortable embarking on such an endeavor by themselves.
It’s helpful in television shows when the audience has a character they can relate to. Animal Crossing already has such a character in the Villager. Just like in the games, an Animal Crossing show should follow the Villager’s arrival to town and their subsequent indentured servitude to Tom Nook. Heck, there could be two villagers, a boy and a girl. Much like Gravity Falls, an Animal Crossing show could follow the pair’s adventures as they navigate the town and try to earn their freedom to go back home by paying off their debt to Tom Nook.
Making the Villagers new to the town is also a good idea, as it means that the audience would be able to learn about the town and its inhabitants along with them. It also means that the storyline would roughly follow the same tone and feel of the games, adding a sense of familiarity for those who have already played quite a bit of the series. Simple activities like fishing, gardening, or escaping from pesky bees could be the basis for the plot of each episode, with a focus on a different animal member or members of the village serving to help spur on different adventures within those activities.
They could even take on the concept of New Horizons by having the Villagers be stranded on a boat until they float upon a seemingly deserted island. Upon landing on the island they discover a town of talking animals. They’re told they can have shelter… for a price. Queue Tom Nook, saddle those villagers with debt, and this show is off to the races!
As mentioned above, Animal Crossing has a rabid fanbase of capitalist furniture collectors. Nintendo can use this to their advantage by ensuring that an anime adaptation of the games still includes tons of references to them. By taking specific locations like the city from Animal Crossing: City Folk or even the museum with its entomophobic custodian, Blathers, the show could pay homage to moments in the games that all fans are familiar with.
This would also allow for fan-favorite characters to get their due. Some players have expressed the opinion that Isabelle rarely makes time to get out of her office. Well, now’s her chance to step into the spotlight. Tom Nook could also constantly be trying to pawn off items that are highly recognizable from the games, like the Froggy Chair. Lastly, some of the best possible Easter Eggs to include would be particular lines of dialogue. Cute animals saying things like “I’m chuffed as chips!” or any of the wonderfully ridiculous puns that appear when you successfully catch a fish would help carry over the series’ signature humor while also giving clever nods to fans.
The world is ready for an Animal Crossing anime (Anime Crossing?), Nintendo, make it happen.
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