The raccoon who serves as Animal Crossing’s main shopkeeper is Tom Nook. He is one of the franchise’s most recognizable characters and is closely associated with the player’s home, loans, and early shopping experience.
Tom Nook first appeared in the Japanese Nintendo 64 game Dōbutsu no Mori, released internationally as the GameCube version of Animal Crossing in 2001. In the original Japanese games, he is based on the tanuki, or raccoon dog. International versions describe him as a raccoon, which is why the quiz’s wording uses that species.
In the earliest games, Nook runs the town store and gives the player a home loan. He also asks the newcomer to work in his shop briefly, introducing basic activities such as planting flowers, writing letters, and speaking with villagers. Later installments expand his role into property development, construction, and island administration.
Players sometimes confuse Tom Nook with Timmy and Tommy, his raccoon apprentices and nephews, who operate Nook’s Cranny in later games. Isabelle is a community assistant, Blathers runs the museum, and K.K. Slider is the traveling musician—not the shopkeeper.