Isabelle

Isabelle is a dog in the Animal Crossing series who first appeared in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, where she helps the player with their duties as mayor. She would later appear in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, playing a similar, but smaller role as the head of the Civic Consultation Counter at the Resident Services building.

Her name was first revealed as Hisho (ひしょ), which is Japanese for secretary, during the New Leaf developer commentary,[1] then was changed in the June 2012 Nintendo Direct to Shizue, a reference to her breed, the Shih Tzu.[2] When localized to English, her name became Isabelle. It may be based on the fact that the top of her head resembles a Bell sack. She has a younger twin brother named Digby who runs the Happy Home Showcase.

Since her introduction in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Isabelle has become a mascot for the Animal Crossing series along with Tom Nook, appearing in all subsequent games and becoming the fictional head of the official Animal Crossing Twitter account though she would be temporarily replaced by Tom Nook to promote New Horizons until the month of July. Additionally, she is featured in many pieces of non-Animal Crossing media, including cameos in various games and playable roles in Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Isabelle is a pale human-Shih Tzu dog hybrid with orange floppy ears and a blonde ponytail. Her hair is tied up with a ribbon that has a bell on top. As such, whenever she walks, a little jingling sound is made.

In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, during spring and summer, Isabelle wears a town-hall spring top, featuring a green plaid vest and a blue skirt. During the fall and winter months, Isabelle wears a town-hall winter top, featuring a yellow and brown sweater and a black skirt. In both her outfits, she dons a red ribbon as an accessory. Isabelle can wear these type of clothing in Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival during the Board Game as her default and Lv. 2 outfit, though it would differ when using her Summer Outfit or Winter Outfit amiibo figures.

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Isabelle wears a coral Nook Inc. aloha shirt and a white skirt in spring and summer, while in fall and winter, she wears a white dress underneath a brown sweater with a white flower insignia and a black skirt. During special occasions and events, Isabelle wears an outfit to match the occasion.

In New Leaf, Isabelle tries her hardest to look up to the mayor as their secretary. Whenever the mayor completes a public works project, she will ask the mayor if they want to attend a celebration for the project's completion, and will frown if the mayor bows out of the celebration. She also values the health and safety of the player, especially in instances where the player hasn't played their town in months. During holidays and events, Isabelle will tell the mayor to take a break from their duties in order to enjoy the festivities. She will also close town hall if she ends up going to the plaza to celebrate.

In New Horizons, Isabelle retains her hardworking nature from New Leaf, but she has also been shown to be extroverted, especially in the instance of her morning announcements. Routinely, she occasionally talks about television, or various aspects regarding her life, such as Digby and her missing sock, only to blush after realizing that what she said does not qualify as news. As of 2.0, this doesn't happen as often, as she usually has different announcements to give.