Daisy is a cream-colored normal dog villager who stole my heart the moment she set foot in my Animal Crossing town back in 2005. As soon as she showed up at my campsite in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, I knew I had to have her back with me. Her simple black eyes, soft blue ears, and cute white muzzle makes her one of the best—and most underrated—Animal Crossing villagers out there.
But did you know that Daisy isn’t just a cutesy pup? She’s one of the most fleshed-out villagers you can get to know. Some of these facts might come as a surprise.
10 Daisy Has A Flea Problem
Yes, despite all her positive personality traits, Daisy is an animal, just like all your other villager friends. She isn’t immune to the terrors of a flea infestation on your perfect island. Players sometimes can talk to their villagers, whose dialogue references the fact that they’re feeling "itchy." If you listen closely, you might be able to hear a slight sound effect, a “fweep” that signals the infestation. If you look even closer, you might spot small black dots jumping off your beloved friend.
If that’s the case, there’s no need to worry. Players can catch the flea and are encouraged to donate to the Museum, much to Blathers’ disdain. This will relieve your villager of their discomfort and count towards those Good Deed Nook Miles.
9 She Loves To Dig
Long-term fans of the series may remember Daisy’s unusual interior design choices in the original Animal Crossing game. She casually has the full Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil in the middle of her living room.
While she lost it in the move between Animal Crossing and Wild World, her love for fossils remains. Much like many real-life dogs, Daisy has an obsession with digging. Much unlike many real-life dogs, she loves palaeontology and dreams of becoming a fossil excavator when she grows up. Until then though, players can often find her roaming around their island looking for fossil spots to dig up!
8 She's An Official Fan Favourite
If you’ve spent any time around Animal Crossing: New Horizons spaces online, you’ll know that Nook Miles Tickets—NMT, for those who are wondering what it stands for—have become the accepted trading currency. If you have the right villagers, you can trade them for a lot of tickets.
One of the most popular villagers at the moment is Tangy, the citrus-themed cat. It’s easy to see why, but Daisy is actually more popular. The Japanese Animal Crossing website held a character popularity poll where Daisy ranked as the 26th most popular character with 693 votes. This ranks above Tangy but below the old dog cop Booker.
7 Her Catchphrase is Great
Every Animal Crossing villager comes with a pre-determined catchphrase. This catchphrase tags onto the end of most sentences they say and serves as a way of displaying their personality from the get-go. Daisy’s catchphrase is 'bow-WOW' which is perfect for this pup.
Bow-wow is often used to describe the noise that dogs make when they are excited. Daisy puts an emphasis on the WOW to indicate that she is excited and interested in what you have to say. Her catchphrase is similar to Tabby’s catchphrase "me-WOW," which serves a similar purpose.
6 She's An Original Villager
Daisy is a long-standing villager. She has been in every game since the original Animal Crossing, Dōbutsu no Mori. This was the first-ever instalment in the Animal Crossing series and was only released in Japan for the Nintendo 64. Players have grown up with Daisy, which is sure to contribute to her popularity. Her lovable personality and her cutesy appearance haven’t changed over the years, which makes her easily one of the most beloved, yet underrated, characters in the franchise.
The only thing that has massively changed about her is her interior design choices. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Daisy swaps out the giant T-Rex fossil and the Moon for more understated choices like a Snowflake Rug and a Yucca plant.
5 She Has An Imaginary Friend
Normal villagers like Daisy have an imaginary best friend called Moppina in Animal Crossing: Wild World. If you have enough conversations with normal villagers and eavesdrop on chats between normal and other villagers, it is revealed that Moppina is literally an unseen mop character. Snooty villagers don’t really get it though, whilst peppy villagers will ask if they can meet Moppina.
If two normal villagers are talking, they might even bring up the fact that they have conversations with, try out hairstyles on and even love to cook with Moppina. It’s thought that Moppina comes from Daisy’s hygiene and cleanliness concerns.
4 She's The Eldest Of Nine Kids
Daisy’s biography in Animal Crossing: New Leaf claims that Daisy is the eldest of her nine siblings. Her siblings have also been fleshed-out in the Animal Crossing universe. Fans of the series may remember the e-Reader accessory for the Game Boy Advance. This device would scan e-Cards for digital content by using a link cable. If players scanned Daisy’s e-Card, they would receive a letter in the mail from her. Her e-Reader letter includes the following:
"The other day I dug up a Stegosaurus Tail, which I later found my brother gnawing on! The bones weren't ruined, but I'm not sure they're up to the Museum's snuff now. Note to self: do not leave treasures around for little brothers to ruin!"
3 She Has The Education Hobby
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons villagers have assigned hobbies that match their personality types. It’s possible for villagers to have one of six hobbies: education, fashion, fitness, music, nature and play.
Prior to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the hobbies each villager had changed between save games. Daisy has the education hobby, which means you’re more likely to find her sniffing around flowers, looking for fossils to dig up and admiring the donations the museum has to offer. In the same vein, you can find these nerdy villagers sitting underneath the shade of a tree enjoying a good book or wandering around with a magnifying glass to spot tiny bugs.
2 She's A Cover Model
One of the best features of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the artwork found on all of K.K. Slider’s album covers. This has proven massively successful with fans of the series, who are now re-imagining their favourite band’s album art to feature K.K.
The artwork in-game often features villagers and Daisy is no exception. If you look closely, you can spot her on the covers of K.K. Lullaby and Steep Hill. On K.K. Lullaby, she is dressed up as a Victorian maid as a baby version of the peppy rabbit villager Gabi tugs on her overalls. Steep Hill features Daisy talking to snooty duck villager Maelle in the sunset background, whilst K.K. plays a melancholic tune.
1 Her Japanese Name Is Just As Cute
Daisy’s name in Dōbutsu no Mori and subsequent Japanese releases of Animal Crossing is バニラ, which translates to Banira, or ‘Vanilla’ for English-speaking audiences. Some players have suggested that this is due to normal-type villagers being considered the ‘base’ for villager personalities.
But, normal-type villagers are a personality type in their own right, not just the starting point for every other character. She was more likely renamed because of her very light custard-yellow fur, which has a similar color to vanilla. Even if her name changes, her appearance and personality stay the same lovable pup players have had in their Animal Crossing games for almost 20 years.