Animal Crossing: New Horizonslikely boasts the greatest birth of content in the franchise as well as the most potential villagers a player can get to show up on their island. Most if not all of the cast (except for video game guest characters) from the previous games returned in this one as well as some new designs and new NPCs.
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Now, a lot of this comes down to opinion, but we found that these five villagers popped up constantly as ones people were excited to have around. And, on the other side, there were five more that people couldn’t stop bullying in an attempt to get them to move out. So, let’s take a look.
Updated July 10, 2025, by Holly Alice:New Horizonshas seen monumental success and popularity since its' release early last year, and in that time the favoritism of some villagers has changed. There has also been the substantial 2.0 update, which added sixteen new villagers to the game - upending the popularity contest once again.
Some classic faces still remain the most popular, but a lot of the newly added and resurrected characters have made a splash in the community, seeing players shell out thousands of Nook Miles Tickets to secure their new favorites.
16Great: Ione The Space Squirrel
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsalready has a good roster of space and alien-themed villagers (see: Octavian and Julian), but the big update addeda shiny new face - Ione, the blue, celestial-themed squirrel.
She wears an Astro dress and has a glittery tail with stars imprinted on a dark blue background. Plus, she glows in the dark! Her house is suitably galaxy-themed as well. She’s super cute and has a normal personality that can slot nicely into any island. Ione comes highly recommended for anyone who wants a burst of cool color.
15Needs to Move Out: Tabby the Cat Face of Nightmares
Tabbyhas appeared in everyAnimal Crossingtitle in the series, much to the disappointment of long-time players. It’s hard to see why Nintendo keeps bringing this cat villager back, asTabby has one of the most disturbing faces in the franchise. Her strange fixed grimace-like expression, bugged-out eyes, and pig-like nose do not make for easy viewing.
She has the rather cute peppy personality type, but unfortunately, it’s not enough to redeem her in the eyes of fans who hate running into her on their islands. This cat has got to go.
14Great: Fauna The Fall Theme Deer
Fall is a great time in anyAnimal Crossinggame, and the accordingly themed villagers are no different.The best of which is clearly Fauna the deer. She is designed in a soothing autumnal palette of browns and oranges and has a delightful house made of logs with a red brick-themed interior.
Fauna is another Normal-type villager, so won’t cause too many disturbances. She’s super cute, too, with little eyelashes and pink ears to match her rosy cheeks. Fauna is incredibly sought after, and it’s not hard to see why: Fauna is perfect. In every way.
13Needs To Move Out: Moose The Elvis Wannabe
Right, who designed this? I just want to talk, honest. Sometimes the team behindAnimal Crossingvillager designs must be having a bad day, assome of them - like Moose here - are just offensive to look at.
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Why is he blue? Why are his eyes glued upwards? Why does he have mutton chops and curly hair? These questions plague us. Moose is a Jock-type, coincidentally the worse personality type as well. His house interior is an absolute mess too with no real theme. Get it together!
12Great: Shino The Devilish Deer
Shino is another completely new entry to the series that came with the 2.0 update, and what an entrance she made! She was featured in theHappy Home Paradisetrailer, and instantly players went wild.
Why the fuss? Well,Shinois a white deer villager (already off to a good start), with cute little fang teeth (adorable), andhorns.Big, red, horns! This instantly makes her one of the more interesting villagers to look at, and her quaint Japanese-themed home, topped with a peppy personality that will immediately make you smile make her a smashing addition to the game. All hail Shino!
11Needs To Move Out: Jambette The Filler-Addicted Frog
Does this need explaining? Look at her! Maybe that was harsh, but come on.The frog villager type already has a lot of ugly ones, even one included on this list - but Jambette takes the cake. Her face is just jarring. I wouldn’t want her on my island, day or night.
Usually, there is a redeeming feature of the less appealing-looking villagers… not in this case. Her house is filled with boring brown furniture, her song is K.K. Étude, and she has the cheek to ask for abeauty school-themedvacation home.
10Great: Eugene The Greaser Koala
Eugene is a Koala Bear that wears a leather jacket, sunglasses, and says cool one-liners.Literally, is there anything that needs to be said? Or, does that sum it up? Though, sadly, Eugene’s name in Japanese actually translates to Rocky, which we feel is an exponentially better name.
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In any case, being a Smug Koala, Eugene still gets along with most people in any town, but he might stroke his own ego when it comes to how cool he is.
9Needs To Move Out: Eloise The Deceptive Trash-Talker Elephant
Eloise is quite the deceptively rude elephant, on the surface, she looks like one of the nicest villagers of the bunch. But, as she gets comfortable on your island and starts talking to others, it quickly becomes clear how self-centered and snooty she is.
Which makes sense considering she has the “snooty” personality type. Eloise gossips sure, but for some reason, it seems like the dev team gave her twice as many insulting lines as most other snooty characters. She picks on other villagers and most won’t stand for that, which is why theyabsolutely “relocated” her housevery quickly.
8Great: Coco The Clay “Rabbit”
It doesn’t matter what anyone says,Cocois awesome. Coco is obviously inspired by the Gyroids that have popped up throughout the series.Here’s the thing though, Gyroids, and by extension Coco, is based on the Japanese tradition of Haniwa.
Haniwa are clay statues that usually have the ashes of the deceased mixed in and are buried with them as well. So, players can infer that Coco is probably an empty vessel that is possessed by a deceased spirit, which is just so cool! She’s a ghost, but she’s the nicest ghost we’ve ever talked to, and a perfect fit for thefan-made Organization XIII costume.
7Needs To Move Out: Rodney The Horrible Hamster
Rodney is the ugliest out of all the hamsters, and that’s saying something. Sorry, but judging based on appearance is a sort of standard in Animal Crossing, so we apologize in advance. Rodney has squished proportions just like the other hamsters, but he’s the only one with features that contrast the squished-aspect like his tall eyes and his wide mouth.
Rodney also has a tuft of hair basically on his forehead instead of on the top of his head, which is horrifying to even think about. He’s just not a great pick compared to all the other potentials.
