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, Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Apollo, a cranky villager who appears in all Animal Crossing series games, plus the film

Cranky villagers (also called Grumpy villagers) are male villagers in the Animal Crossing series. The name is a direct reference to the meaning of cranky; someone who is irritated or annoyed easily. Prior to Animal Crossing: New Leaf, they were considered the male equivalent to the snooty villagers, but now are considered the equivalent to the more similar Uchi villagers. There are currently 67 cranky villagers so far, three of which originally had a separate personality, while three others have a different personality since Animal Crossing: Wild World and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Characteristics

Chief, a notable cranky villager, snaps at a player meeting him for the first time in Animal Crossing: Wild World.

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 a.m. and wake up at 10:00 a.m. each day. When trying to enter the house of a cranky person before they wake, 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 Animal Crossing and Doubutsu no Mori e+, the cranky islanders Flash, O'Hare, and Rowan, alongside Curlos, Frank, and Verdun in e+, act charming, polite, and gentlemanlike, if also arrogant, in a similar manner to the smug personality introduced in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Only Curlos and O'Hare return with this personality, however.

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 uchi villagers, and express disgust for snooty and smug villagers for their arrogance. In the case with an uchi 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 Animal Crossing, a cranky character will often speak to the player about their niece after becoming friends. Also, in City Folk, they may say this to another cranky villager. When a cranky villager gets sad will say something that he lives 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 Animal Crossing: New Leaf, 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.

Conversation between a normal villager and a cranky villager:
"So, <cranky villager>... Just the other day, I cooked up a batch of <dish> 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 <dish>? Think of the possibilities! Nobody would suspect a thing until they took a bite, and then POW! Puckerface city! HAHAHA!"
"You're absolutely awful!"
(Normal Villager walks away angry)