Talk:List of Animal Crossing series characters

Inclusion of villager characters
This article should not include villager characters per WP:IINFO, as that kind of overly broad scope is what has gotten this article deleted and merged in the past. A full repository of villagers is not encyclopedic content, and is better suited for the many fan wikis that are readily available. (Also, IMO the villager characters aren't unique enough for inclusion on Wikipedia; they may have individual designs, but they're all just palette swaps of the same 6-8 personalities and are not notable in their own regard.) Morgan695 (talk) 17:04, 20 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Hi! The general basis of inclusion or lack thereof is: "Do secondary sources discuss this aspect?" In this revision I found sourced commentary from a video game journalism magazine about how Raymond became a fan favorite, partly due to the cross-dressing aspect, to the point where it affected the game's economy. My feeling is that I need a place for this content.
 * When discussing guidelines I like to directly quote them to remind people of what they are, partly to avoid misinterpretations. WP:IINFO states:
 * "To provide encyclopedic value, data should be put in context with explanations referenced to independent sources. As explained in § Encyclopedic content above, merely being true, or even verifiable, does not automatically make something suitable for inclusion in the encyclopedia. Wikipedia articles should not be:" (the following example do not seem to be relevant to this case)
 * WhisperToMe (talk) 16:24, 23 April 2020 (UTC)
 * The passage you've cited directly confirms what I've written above. The fact that Raymond is a fan favorite character or has impacted the external game fandom does not automatically qualify him as a notable character in the context of Animal Crossing as a decades-spanning franchise (e.g., the fact that he is popular "merely being true, or even verifiable, does not automatically make" him "suitable for inclusion in the encyclopedia"). Every AC game has its character that goes lightly viral before fans move onto the next thing – Marshall in New Leaf, Marina in Wild World, and so on. The cross-dressing aspect is also not notable, as literally every character in the game will dress in the clothes you tell them to wear. This is material that is suited for inclusion on a fan Wikia, not Wikipedia (see WP:GAMECRUFT for further guidance). Morgan695 (talk) 16:50, 23 April 2020 (UTC)
 * While it indeed says "merely being true, or even verifiable, does not automatically make" him "suitable for inclusion in the encyclopedia", this portion is also relevant: "To provide encyclopedic value, data should be put in context with explanations referenced to independent sources." This second is key in distinguishing which is "fancruft" and what is not.
 * Material is notable because independent sources say so (excluding "routine" news). Our guidance of what is notable should be based upon what the video games journalists write, what is written in published (non-self published) books, etc. Our distinguishment of what is WP:FANCRUFT from what is not FANCRUFT is what other people write in secondary sources. If video game journalists describe characters as being popular for certain reasons affecting the game's economy, that's material we should be covering.
 * I would like to ask you: Is there a similar discussion that comes to mind that you know of that covers a similar aspect? If not, a request for comments would perhaps be illuminating here.
 * WhisperToMe (talk) 18:03, 23 April 2020 (UTC)
 * If we're going to start adding villagers, it should be with the caveat that only villagers that have received significant coverage in reliable secondary sources are included. I wouldn't consider two Polygon articles written by the same author to be "significant coverage". The foreseeable endgame of being lax here is a list that includes every villager character in the game, which in the past made this article unencyclopedic, unnavigable, and led it to getting deleted and redirected.
 * (also saying this now so it doesn't seem like I'm moving goalposts if it's decided that villagers should be added, but if Raymond or any villager should be added, the description should be drastically shortened to one sentence to be aligned with the rest of the list. It's bizarre for a character who has appeared in one game and is effectively just a pallet swap of one of the game's 8 standard personalities to have a longer blurb than the game's major recurring characters.) Morgan695 (talk) 18:33, 23 April 2020 (UTC)
 * "If we're going to start adding villagers, it should be with the caveat that only villagers that have received significant coverage in reliable secondary sources are included." I am perfectly fine with that condition, and I'm also OK with reducing the sentences covering him. As for the definition of "significant coverage" it's outlined here:
 * Notability: ""Significant coverage" addresses the topic directly and in detail, so that no original research is needed to extract the content. Significant coverage is more than a trivial mention, but it does not need to be the main topic of the source material." - It's the main topic of both articles, although they're written by the same person in the same publication.
 * The notability guidelines state: "They do not limit the content of an article or list, though notability is commonly used as an inclusion criterion for lists (for example for listing out a school's alumni)." - So it would be good to use "significant coverage" as an inclusion criterion here.
 * Secondly: I found a news article from a CBS Interactive-owned gaming news website, and the author is a staff member. It includes an interview with a Tumblr employee, Amanda Brennan (who manages the brand advocacy department), talking about the popularity of Raymond on the website.
 * WhisperToMe (talk) 21:32, 23 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Sure, whatever. Kind seems very arbitrary that only one of 400+ villagers will be listed on this page, and this may very well open a Pandora's box of "I'm adding [favorite villager] to this list because reasons" that will put this article right back to being unusable and primed for AfD, but I don't care enough to discuss it any longer. Morgan695 (talk) 03:01, 24 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Sure, whatever. Kind seems very arbitrary that only one of 400+ villagers will be listed on this page, and this may very well open a Pandora's box of "I'm adding [favorite villager] to this list because reasons" that will put this article right back to being unusable and primed for AfD, but I don't care enough to discuss it any longer. Morgan695 (talk) 03:01, 24 April 2020 (UTC)

I find in reading this page it doesn’t make sense to include a villager when the introduction specifically states this is listing characters that are in everybody’s games. The citations and story behind Raymond could be included in the villagers page instead? AussieWikiDan (talk) 15:13, 30 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Isn't the villager entry about the playable character rather than the NPCs? Also I found Raymond is one of the six featured characters of the Animal Crossing manga translated by VIZ recently WhisperToMe (talk) 17:09, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

Gulliver and Gullivarrr
Regarding this recent edit, I'd like to point out that Gulliver and Gullivarrr are separate characters with different quests for the player. Ionmars10 (talk) 02:07, 5 October 2021 (UTC)


 * Hi thanks, different sources say different things or do not clarify. The Official website states that  "a familiar face will occasionally wash up on shore, but sporting slightly different, pirate-like clothing". Even though in some games he appears as a martian he is still Gulliver. AussieWikiDan (talk) 12:22, 5 October 2021 (UTC)

"Ankha" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ankha&redirect=no Ankha] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. QuicoleJR (talk) 20:27, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

"Audie (Animal Crossing)" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Audie_(Animal_Crossing)&redirect=no Audie (Animal Crossing)] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. QuicoleJR (talk) 20:30, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

"Bob (Animal Crossing)" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_(Animal_Crossing)&redirect=no Bob (Animal Crossing)] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. QuicoleJR (talk) 20:32, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

Should Ankha be included?
I would like to start a discussion about whether Ankha should be included on the list. We only include villagers if they appeared in the film or have received SIGCOV from reliable sources. Ankha was not in the movie, and there are no reliable sources covering her. Pinging as the person who restored the entry. QuicoleJR (talk) 15:52, 31 January 2024 (UTC)


 * I have also notified WP:VGCHAR of this discussion. QuicoleJR (talk) 15:55, 31 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I notified WP:VG of this discussion to get more input. QuicoleJR (talk) 23:06, 4 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Is Business Insider a sufficiently reliable source for this sort of entry? If so, this article might be used to establish the character's significance outside the game. Tevildo (talk) 20:29, 31 January 2024 (UTC)
 * It is considered reliable for culture stuff, but I would like to see more than one source. Otherwise, we would end up including every villager who appears in some journalist's Top 10 list. QuicoleJR (talk) 16:09, 1 February 2024 (UTC)
 * QuicoleJR (talk) 23:03, 4 February 2024 (UTC)
 * I don't think there's been enough coverage for her conclusion. AussieWikiDan (talk) 09:31, 1 February 2024 (UTC)


 * I believe the Business Insider article is easily sufficient for inclusion, given that every character entry on the list is like, just a sentence anyway. If a full-length article on a character doesn't justify a sentence-long mention on a list, I don't really know what does. Frankly, even getting mentioned in a top-10 list is fine for list inclusion, it's having a standalone article where that becomes less convincing of an argument. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 00:04, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
 * You are probably right. I just don't want this list to become too indiscriminate. QuicoleJR (talk) 02:43, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
 * For what it's worth, here's a draft I made. User:Cukie Gherkin/Ankha Zone - Cukie Gherkin (talk) 00:09, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
 * That seems to actually be notable. I would definitely support keeping Ankha on the list now. QuicoleJR (talk) 02:45, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
 * I do feel the whole Zone thing gave her enough notoriety. Was it fleeting? Yes. But for the purposes of this list that appears to be enough.--Kung Fu Man (talk) 03:28, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Okay, that takes... dedication. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be viable to just have an article on Ankha in general. While she's mainly notable due to the meme, there's also this article, while it doesn't count towards notability, it can certainly be used to flesh out a potential article. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 03:43, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Honestly, the reason it's still a draft is because the sources are all around the same week span except for one. I haven't managed to find any solid sigcov for Ankha (which is part of why I tried making it about the animation). - Cukie Gherkin (talk) 05:16, 5 February 2024 (UTC)