"Tom Is The Man": Animal Crossing Fans Point Out Why Tom Nook Is Actually An Amazing Landlord

By Carrie Lambertsen

Published Nov 28, 2024

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons doesn't have a villain to cause conflict in the cozy and relaxing island getaway, but over the years many players have taken to vilifying the business-minded property manager, Tom Nook. While it is true that this Tanuki, Tom Nook, is more focused on the in-game currency of bells than any other character in the game, that doesn't necessarily make him evil. In fact, his seemingly exorbitant fees are handled in a pretty kind and gracious manner.

Reddit ItzBluigiCLips recently shared a meme that humorously points out that Tom Nook is essentially the opposite of an evil villain. His loans have no interest, and he never bothers the player about needing to pay back a loan, he simply requests that a loan is paid off before further work is done.

Not to mention the fact that Tom Nook has magical construction abilities that let him build a whole house or expansion overnight, even while the player's character is presumably sleeping inside it. In a way, he is much nicer than some of the ive-aggressive villagers that can move in, and especially the ones from previous games who could be downright cruel in some of their dialogue.

Tom Nook's Loan Policies Are Much Better Than Real World Loans

Service With A Smile, Even While Millions In Debt

Players don't ever know what the actual costs are to Tom Nook for the construction of a house or renovation that takes place overnight. His loans can reach into outrageous amounts of bells, but there is no idea of how much he earns off of it. He doesn't even have a house to call his own, which could suggest that he doesn't earn that much and has to sleep in his office. Of course, Isabelle also doesn't have a home, so hopefully he is paying her fair wages.

It is important to that Animal Crossing games prior to New Horizons did present a very different picture of Tom Nook, and his loans were handled much more seriously then.

Animal Crossing: New Horizon presents Tom Nook as one of the calmest and kindest loan sharks to exist. His loans come with a very laid back feeling because they never gain interest, and he doesn't come knocking to demand a payment. He even gave the player a phone when they first came to the island, and his nephews will purchase random things like butterflies from the player at inflated prices so that the loans can be paid off.

Screen Rant's Take On Tom Nook In ACNH

He Really Isn't Such A Bad Little Tanuki

Animal Crossing Tom Nook sitting at a computer in a dark office

I believe that Tom Nook is a very misunderstood character, who has obviously evolved over the different games and grown to be a kinder and more laid back businessman. As Reddit Erohiel said in a comment on the original post from ItzBluigiCLips, Tom Nook is the kind of landlord or loan provider that anyone would love to work with in real life.

Sadly, Tom Nook gets a pretty bad reputation from a large majority of the video game community. Perhaps this is partly due to many of us ing how he was in past games, or simply due to the fact that he is the closest thing to an antagonist that the game has. Although, if players didn't have any need to earn bells and pay off large loans, it is true that things could get pretty boring and lack direction. Therefore, Tom Nook is doing everyone a favor in more ways than one in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Source: ItzBluigiCLips/Reddit, Erohiel/Reddit