What’s in a Name? Animal Crossing Villagers Finale (U-Z) Plus Special Characters

Ursala

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Ursala; ネーヤ, Neeya	Pun on the Latin and Portuguese word ursa, meaning bear, and the name Ursula; Derived from 姉さん, nēsan, which means big sister. Ursala does have the “sisterly” personality. To be honest, Ursala is a much more inspired name	“grooomph”
Vesta; メリヤス, Meriyasu	Reference to vests, which are sometimes made out of wool; It means knitting in Japanese	“baaaffo”

Vesta

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Wart Jr.; サム, Samu	Reference to how frogs can have warts, as well as a reference to Wart from Mario; I admit that I don’t have any concrete sources for the little guy’s JP name, but I have three guesses. 1. Reference to the early Jim Henson and Jane Nabel live action/puppet sketch show Sam and Friends. 2. Reference to Sam Elliot, who appeared in the movie Frogs. 3. Reference to samurai, considering his outfit and décor. Looking at his house especially, I’m convinced that this guess is the most accurate	“grr-ribbit”
Willow; マリー Marī	Possible reference to the golden willow, a variant of white willow, referencing her golden wool; Reference to Mary Had a Little Lamb	“bo peep”

Willow

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Zucker; タコヤ, Takoya	Reference to the suckers on octopus tentacles; Reference to the Japanese food takoyaki, which he very much resembles. And yes, octopus takoyaki exists	“bloop”

Zucker

Before we bid farewell to this subject in the context of AC, I thought it would be fun to look at the names of special AC characters as well.

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)
Bianca; あやしいねこ, ayashī neko	Reference to her blank face; You may want to sit down for this, because ayashī neko literally means… Suspicious Cat in Japanese. Art.
Blathers; フータ, Fūta	So named for his tendency to, well, blather on; It means hooter in Japanese

Blathers

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)
Booker; おまわりさんB・もんばんさんA, Omawari-san B; Monban-san A	Reference to how police officers book suspects; Literally Policeman A or Gatekeeper B

Booker

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)
Brewster; マスター, Masutā	Reference to brewed coffee; Reference to his status as a brewmaster
C.J.; ジャスティン, Jasutin	Reference to Chip, the host of fishing tournaments in previous games. Could C.J. be Chip’s son?; He’s a beaver. Named Justin. Eh? Ehh?

C.J. is much cuter than Chip. My tea is hot

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)
Celeste; フーコ Fūko	Reference to the stars above, which she helps the player observe via the museum observatory; Likely a portmanteau of the Japanese word for owl and the feminine name suffix -ko

Celeste

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)
Copper; おまわりさんA・もんばんさんB Omawari-san A; Monban-san B	Reference to, well, cops; Literally Policeman B or Gatekeeper A. Jeez, no wonder they were renamed in other regions
Digby; ケント, Kento	Probable reference to how dogs like to bury things; Reference to the Chinese word for dog (ken)
Gulliver; ジョニー Jonī	Reference to Gulliver’s Travels; It means journey in Japanese
Isabelle; しずえ Shizue	Isabelle is a name that references “beauty”, and I thought that in this context it was referencing Isabelle’s cuteness… but take a closer look at her design. Her name is a reference to how a bag of bells looks; Reference to her and Digby’s species (Shih Tzu)
Jack; パンプキング, Panpukingu	Reference to jack-o’-lanterns; It means “Pumpking”
Katie; まいこちゃん, Maiko-chan	Reference to kitty; Reference to maigo (“lost child”, which she frequently is)
Katrina; ハッケミィ, Hakkemī	Reference to “cat” (specifically, she’s a panther, the only one thus far in the series); Reference to the Bagua, the Eight Trigrams in Taoist cosmology
Kicks; シャンク, Shanku	Reference to, well, kicks (shoes); Portmanteau of shoe and skunk

Kicks

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)
Pascal; ラコスケ, Rakosuke	Possible reference to French philosopher, or the unit of measurement of the same name; Rako is Japanese for otter, and -suke is a Japanese masculine name suffix
Tom Nook; たぬきち Tanukichi	Both of his names reference the fact that he is a tanuki
Wisp; ゆうたろう, Yūtarō	Reference to will-o’-the-wisp; Portmanteau of yurei (“ghost”) and the masculine name suffix -taro

Wisp. He kinda looks like a Boo from Mario, doesn’t he?

My takeaway from the special character names is that I wasn’t prepared for how literal a lot of their names are in Japanese.

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Logo Acrylic Painting

I’ve been trying to get back into painting this year, and was impressed by how a marker drawing of this logo went when I dug through some of old doodles. That’s how it became the subject of a few painting attempts.

Covenant of the Plume is the Valkyrie Profile game that I played the least. It was hard, even on normal.

I may paint the logos from the other games in the series.

What’s in a Name? Animal Crossing Villagers #10 (S-T)

Scoot via Otter-ACNH

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Scoot; マモル, Mamoru	Probable reference to a scooter. People who wear scooters should wear helmets, like the one that Scoot always wears; It means to guard or protect, like the helmet on his head!	“zip zoom”
Sheldon; クリス, Kurisu	Reference to how some nuts have shells; Portmanteau of kuri (chestnut) and risu (squirrel). It can also be translated as Chris	“cardio”
Sherb; レム, Remu	Possible reference to the color of his fur resembling blue sherbet ice cream; Reference to REM sleep (Sherb is a villager with the lazy personality type to boot)	“bawwww”

Sherb via jubelarts

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Skye; リリィ, Rirī	Reference to her sky-blue fur. Or is it… cyan?; Reference to white lilies (the highlights in her fur are white)	“airmail”

Skye via wolfwithwing

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Snake; モモチ, Momochi	Reference to Snake from Metal Gear. This has to make Snake objectively the best villager in the franchise; Reference to the Momochi ninja clan that founded the Iga school of ninjutsu	“bunyip”

Snake

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Sprinkle; フラッペ, Furappe	Reference to sprinkles as an ice cream topping. Could it also be a reference to a sprinkling of snow?; Reference to Frappé coffee	“frappe”

Sprinkle

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Sprocket; ヘルツ, Herutsu	Reference to the machine part; Reference to hertz, the “derived unit of frequency”	“zort”
Stitches; パッチ, Pacchi	Possible reference to the stitches that keep the seams of stuffed animals together; Possible reference to patchwork	“stuffin’”

Stitches

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Sydney; シドニー, Shidonī	Both of her names reference the city of Sydney in Australia	“sunshine”

Sydney

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Tabby; トラこ, Torako	Reference to how she is a tabby; Tora means tiger, and -ko is a feminine name suffix in Japanese	“me-WOW”
Tangy; ヒャクパー, Hyakupā	Reference to the taste of citrus; A contraction of 100 percent in Japanese, referencing 100% juice concentrate	“reeeeOWR”

Tangy

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
T-Bone; ボルシチ, Borushichi	Reference to T-bone steaks; It means borscht in Japanese	“moocher”
Tia; ティーナ, Tīna	Reference to tea; Now this name may not seem like anything special, but look closely. The first vowel is dragged out to sound more like the Japanese pronunciation of tea	“teacup”

Tia

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Tiffany; バズレー, Bazurē	Reference to Audrey Hepburn’s appearance in Breakfast at Tiffany’s; Derived from abazure (mean or unpleasant woman)	“bun bun”
Timbra; つかさ, Tsukasa	Reference to timbre, a type of wood; It means pine cone, which is what she resembles	“pine nut”

Timbra

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Twiggy; ピーチク, Pīchiku	Reference to how birds use twigs to help build their nests; It means chirp or tweet in Japanese. Personally, I think it may also be a reference to Pikachu, considering how Twiggy kind of resembles it in her design	“cheepers”

Twiggy

Name (Western/Japanese)	Onomatology (West/JP)	Catchphrase
Tybalt; ハリマオ, Harimao	Reference to Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, who was nicknamed the “Prince of Cats”’; Reference to Harimau, which means tiger in Malay. Harimau was also the nickname of Tani Yukata, who became a bandit out of revenge for his sisters. It’s a very dark story	“grrRAH”

Tybalt via tiredvampire-art