Cranky

"He might seem scary at first, but he's actually a big softy, even if he tries to act all serious!"

- Isabelle, talking about a Cranky villager

Cranky villagers (also called grumpy villagers) are male villagers in the. The name is a direct reference to the meaning of cranky; someone who is irritated or annoyed easily. Prior to, they were considered the male equivalent to the snooty villagers, but now are considered the equivalent to the more similar big sister villagers. There are currently 67 cranky villagers so far, three of which (Dobie, Harry and T-Bone) originally had different personalities, while three others (Curlos, O'Hare and Rowan) have a different personality since (for Rowan) or.

Behaviors
Cranky villagers typically act quite bitter, rude, and stubborn, being angered easily if things are not going their way (hence the name "cranky"). They are also, generally, out-of-touch with social trends, making them generally unpopular with the peppy villagers. They are all deep-voiced (unlike every other villager) and many have frowns. They usually go to sleep at 5:00 AM in, or 3:30 AM in , and wake up at 10:00 AM in , or 9:00 AM in each day. When trying to enter the house of a cranky villager before they wake, in older games, the player is greeted with an angry letter explaining that they are sleeping, "I'm catching some Z's right now, wake me and REGRET IT". They usually spend half of the day in their houses and half of the day out. In and, the cranky islanders Flash, O'Hare, and Rowan, alongside Curlos, Frank, and Verdun in e+, act charming, polite, and gentlemanlike, if a bit arrogant, in a similar manner to the smug personality introduced in. However, only Curlos and O'Hare return with this personality.

The Cranky personality has softened significantly in and. Though their bitter, rude and stubborn aspects remain, and they have the tendency to complain about aches and pains in their aging bodies, they gain an understanding and caring side. Instead of frequently raging at the player and other characters, and speaking in all-caps often, they give fatherly advice and are welcoming when the player enters their house. Though still being rather impolite, they have also traded in straightforward insults for lighthearted sarcasm, such as joking about their "sunny disposition" when the weather is nice outside.

Relationships
Cranky villagers find it best to get along with other cranky villagers, usually discussing trivial things such as food and the problems with unhealthy food. They also get on with normal and lazy villagers most of the time, but can still offend them if the wrong things have been said. They find it particularly difficult to get on with peppy and big sister villagers, and express disgust for snooty and smug villagers for their arrogance. In the case with a sisterly villager, due to both personalities being stubborn and opinionated, the two will clash with differing opinions. They can occasionally be good friends with a snooty or smug villager, but will still express their disgust. Thus, conversations between a cranky villager and a villager of one of these types will result in one of them depressed and occasionally cranky villagers will tell the player that things are getting boring so they are considering spreading rumors about another animal and 'watching the fun'. The usual response from peppy villagers is to call them an 'old man' or 'grandpa'.

Although they may appear unfriendly, if the player talks to them, does errands for them and sends them letters for long enough, they will eventually begin to open up and will be more friendly with the player. In, a cranky character will often speak to the player about their niece after becoming friends. Also, in, they may say this to another cranky villager. When a cranky villager gets sad, they will say that they live in a cold world. They can usually grow to be close friends if the player meets them often and sends them letters with presents attached.

In, the cranky characters' unfriendly demeanor has been toned down, thus making them easier to befriend.

Quotes
Below are some (not all) quotes made by cranky villagers.

''"So, &lt;cranky villager&gt;... Just the other day, I cooked up a batch of &lt;dish&gt; that was so sour, it hurt!" "That sounds awesome! I didn't even know it was possible to make something that sour! What'd you do?" "It was just something I added to give it a little kick, but I guess something went really wrong... Wait, did you just... You think that sounds good? Really?" "You know it! I mean come on! Sour &lt;dish&gt;? Think of the possibilities! Nobody would suspect a thing until they took a bite, and then POW! Puckerface city! HAHAHA!" "You're absolutely awful!" The normal villager will walk off angry.''
 * Conversation between a normal villager and a cranky villager:

Dialog

 * Cranky villager dialog in
 * Cranky villager dialog in
 * Cranky villager dialog in

Trivia

 * Discounting species that exclusively contain female villagers, no duck or ostrich villagers have ever had the Cranky personality.
 * Additionally, no alligator, chicken, elephant, horse, kangaroo, lion, or sheep villagers initially had the cranky personality, but later installments did introduce villagers of those species with said personality. However, Curlos, the only cranky sheep in the series, would switch to a smug personality in, meaning no sheep villagers currently have the cranky personality.