Animal Crossing: New Horizons has plenty of unlikable villagers, but its worst characater is not one of them. The Nintendo title keeps its gameplay fresh with holiday events that are hosted by visiting characters, many of whom are beloved: Jack the Pumpkin, Jingle the Reindeer, and Pavé the Peacock all represent their respective holiday events and are received with open arms by players. But one of these holiday hosts is so jarring in his design and so unsettling in his candor that he has shaken the Animal Crossing community to its core: Zipper T. Bunny.
Zipper is a yellow rabbit who is the host of Bunny Day, a Spring event that emulates the egg hunt children embark on during Easter Sunday. Zipper has held this role in Animal Crossing: City Folk and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, in which Bunny Day is celebrated only on Easter Sunday itself. But Animal Crossing: New Horizons altered Bunny Day by making the entire week leading up to it part of the event. This let players collect eggs and Bunny Day DIY recipes in preparation of the Bunny Day exchange, which is when eggs can be given to Zipper in exchange for Bunny Day-themed furniture and items.
But as a consequence of Bunny Day festivities lasting a week in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Zipper is on players' islands for longer than in the past. Mix this with the fact that Bunny Day was the first holiday event for the game, and a spotlight is put on Zipper. The rabbit has not favored well with this extra attention to say the least. His overwhelming peppiness and grotesquely joyful design have been of particular concern, as the other Animal Crossing holiday hosts feel much more tame in comparison (except for Pavé, but his character is meant to be over-the-top and glamorous). However, there are other factors about Zipper that him not just annoying - but genuinely creepy and sinister.
What's Wrong With Zipper T. Bunny In Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Perhaps the most disconcerting facet of Zipper's design in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that it is highly suggested Zipper is a person inside of a suit. Not only does his name Zipper nod to the zipper on a suit, but Zipper has a literal zipper on his back. In a game where the only human character is the player, seeing what seems to be another person pretending to be an animal like the other villagers feels very bewildering. It additionally calls Zipper's intentions in Animal Crossing: New Horizons into question. Why would a person come another's island, try to convince people they are a peppy rabbit, ask for tons of eggs that suddenly start appearing, and then just leave? Such a line of questioning gets the imagination running in dangerous directions.
Even Zipper's happy attitude seems to be fake. Whenever the player is close to Zipper, he dances and acts very excited. But if the player is a certain distance away from the rabbit, he not only stops dancing but slumps over, looking exhausted. Even worse, YouTuber seven toad found that Zipper will turn around shocked if he is seen not dancing and will then commence his hopping. This highlights how there is something lying beneath Zipper's joyful facade. Whether this something is sinister or not is left for players to decide, but his reasonless egg-harvesting makes it easy to think Zipper and Animal Crossing's Bunny Day may have an evil side. The video can be viewed below:
Why Nintendo put such a spotlight on Zipper is unknown. His creepy design and personality make him feel like a bad choice to kick off the game's holiday events. Nevertheless, it is fun to see an Animal Crossing: New Horzions character have a genuinely unsettling demeanor even if it would be more suitable for the Halloween season.