Ankha is the second most popular Animal Crossing villager, second only to Raymond. Ankha is arguably the most well-known villager, as she was briefly a viral TikTok meme. She is always at the top of tier lists, permanently an S-tier villager. Oddly, while Ankha has been around since the beginning of Animal Crossing, she only rose to popularity with the release of New Horizons.
There are numerous theories as to why Ankha is such a coveted villager, but ultimately I think it is just because she is one of the most unique, interesting, and well-designed Animal Crossing characters of all time. I may be biased; I have been obsessed with ancient Egyptian culture since I was a young child. However, even a player who doesn’t love Egypt as much as I do can see how different Ankha is from the other Animal Crossing characters.
Bottom Line Up Front
Animal Type: Cat
Personality Type: Snooty
First Game: Animal Crossing
Birthday: September 22nd
Favorite Colors: Colorful and brown
Favorite Style: Gorgeous and simple
Appearance
Ankha is a navy blue and golden cat. Most of her body is a bright yellow, “gold” color and she has navy blue accents on her ears, arms, legs, and tail. Ankha wears a traditional Egyptian headpiece; she has a gold and navy cobra on the front of her forehead.
Oddly, the cobra has a big smile on its face while Ankha wears a permanent frown. Ankha’s navy stripes on her arms and legs are slightly above her paws, giving them the appearance of being armbands. This style choice makes it look as if Ankha is wearing traditional Egyptian jewelry.
Ankha’s headgear is inspired by queen Cleopatra who is one of my favorite ancient Egyptian rulers. This headgear remains the same in most Animal Crossing games but is slightly different in City Folk where her headwear is replaced with a smaller head pendant. Ankha has stereotypical “Egyptian” eye makeup.
She has thick eyeliner that surrounders her entire eyes and curves out towards the top. It is not considered a winged eyeliner since it includes her top and bottom eye lines. When Ankha closes her eyes you can see her bright orange eyeshadow that is not visible when her eyes are open. Ankha’s eyes are always looking upward as if she is constantly rolling her eyes.
Something that is a bit controversial about Ankha’s look is her deep scowl. Ankha scowls even when she is happy; her facial expression never changes! Many players don’t like the constant negativity that Ankha carries with her; she comes off as being harsh and mean.
However, other players think that the scowl suits Ankha well and sets her apart from other Animal Crossing villagers. There are theories that Ankha is designed to be harsher because she is meant to resemble Queen Cleopatra who had to fight hard for her place as a leader.
Personality
Ankha has the “snooty” personality type. The snooty personality type works exceptionally well with Ankha’s character design and her supposed backstory. Snooty villagers are mainly concerned with their looks, makeup, fashion, and style. Snooty villagers can be rude and demeaning. They are relatively intelligent, very well-spoken, and certainly full of confidence. Unfortunately, snooty villagers don’t get along with many other personality types.
The only other personalities they get on well with are smug and cranky. The smug villagers share their interest in fashion, and cranky villagers have the same well-spoken maturity that snooty villagers value. Snooty villagers see themselves as being higher class than most other villagers.
Snooty villagers can cause issues on your island if you don’t have the correct mix of personalities to support the snooty villager. Peppy villagers get easily annoyed by snooty villagers’ constant negativity, normal villagers get sad when snooty villagers talk about them behind their backs, and lazy villagers are offended by the remarks made about their lifestyle.
Jock villagers get irritated with snooty villagers’ disregard for exercise. If you like to be a problem solver on your island, adding a snooty villager to your island will give you a lot to do.
Despite snooty villagers’ tendency to be a bit uppity, they are incredibly sweet once they get to be friends with the player. I like that snooty villagers make the player work for their friendship more than other villagers. Many villagers are easy to get along with right off the bat, but the friendship doesn’t ever seem to grow. With a snooty villager, you will be able to tell when they are beginning to trust and like you more.
It is very satisfying to get that first compliment from a villager that often has nothing nice to say. I also like that snooty villagers tend to be a bit sarcastic. Most of my conversations with friends in real life have a healthy dose of sarcasm. Peppy villagers’ constant positivity and enthusiasm can get to be a lot; it is nice to get some sarcastic humor from a snooty villager.
Snooty villagers also bring great style to your island! Their homes have beautiful and usually have more expensive furniture. They also enjoy getting clothing as gifts more than some of the other villagers, making gifting pretty easy for snooty types.
Why You Should Bring Ankha to Your Island
Almost every Animal Crossing New Horizons player wants to have Ankha on his or her island. She is as popular (if not more now) as Raymond; Raymond, at one point, had people spending thousands of dollars just to bring him to their island. Oddly, Ankha never saw the crazy prices that Raymond did.
Her popularity spiked when she became a viral TikTok meme, at that point Nintendo had released Amiibo cards for all the most popular characters, allowing players to have them without having to trade for them on the Animal Crossing “black market.”
The most obvious benefit to having Ankha on your island is that she is really cool. She has a unique and interesting look that sets her apart from other Animal Crossing villagers. She has a very clear theme, the Egyptian Queen, that is executed well in both her character design and her attitude. Her home follows this theme as well; Ankha’s home is one of the best in Animal Crossing across all games.
Some players have complained about Ankha’s popularity due to her sour personality. Snooty villagers can be controversial in the Animal Crossing fandom, particularly when they have the popularity that Ankha has. Ankha’s snooty attitude is exaggerated by her permanent scowl and eye roll.
Some players feel that Ankha brings negativity to their island that is unnecessary for an Animal Crossing utopia. However, I like having at least one snooty villager on my island to get a bit of realism in my Animal Crossing experience. Having a strong mix of personalities makes your island more vibrant and interesting!
As a snooty villager, Ankha will not hold back on giving you professional fashion and makeup tips. You can tell she is quite good with eyeliner and eyeshadow by looking at her decked-out face, so she is one snooty villager you can be confident getting tips from.
Ankha has been part of the Animal Crossing world since the beginning. She holds nostalgia for some players who remember interacting with her when Animal Crossing first came out in 2001. For many of us, characters that remind us of previous games give us a bit of our childhood back! I started playing Animal Crossing when I was only eight! Characters like Ankha bring me right back to the joy I felt exploring my town as a child.
Home Appearance
Ankha’s home is my all-time favorite across all Animal Crossing games. She has had four renditions of her home, Animal Crossing, City Folk, New Leaf, and New Horizons. Her home in Animal Crossing (the original) is unique because she starts out with only one piece of furniture! To fill Ankha’s home in the first game the player has to befriend her and then fulfill gifting requests, which she will then display in her house. As she gains furniture, her floor and wallpaper will also change.
Her original house in Animal Crossing had a clear theme attempt, but due to the fact that there wasn’t a whole lot of Egyptian furniture in the game at this point, it falls flat a bit. Ankha does have the Ancient wall and Ancient tiles, which are clearly Egyptian. However, her furniture comes from the regal set.
Ankha certainly is a regal Queen cat, but the furniture does not match the wallpaper and flooring well. The regal set is a bright white and looks like it came from the Renaissance period rather than a more ancient civilization.
In City Folk, Egyptian-themed furniture is introduced for the first time in Animal Crossing games. The pyramid and sphinx are staples in Ankha’s home. She also has the mummy’s casket, broken post, and corn plant. Oddly, there is a large, black retro stereo that sticks out like a sore thumb in Ankha’s City Folk house. This home is almost perfect, but there are still improvements made in the next games.
Ankha’s New Leaf home is my favorite rendition of her house. It has a lot of stuff in it, but everything matches and is the same theme! She has two pyramids and two sphinxes which sit across from each other on both sides of her floor. She has a throne with a mummy’s casket standing right beside it on the back wall.
Two tiki torches sit against the back wall in the corners. Finally, she has a broken post in the middle of the left section. She still has the ancient wall and tiles. Unfortunately, Ankha’s exterior in New Leaf is drab. It is disappointing how unassuming the exterior of her home is, considering the elaborate decoration inside.
Many players have taken issue with Ankha’s New Horizons home. There are quite a few issues with her home in New Horizons, the main one being that there isn’t enough color contrast to make the setting visually pleasing. Everything in her home is a light brown or gold color, and everything looks as if it blends together. The main piece of furniture in Ankha’s home is the pyramid, which sits in the middle of the floor and is absolutely enormous.
I assume that Nintendo changed the pyramid’s size in New Horizons as it is now meant to be more of an outdoor item. It works splendidly as an outdoor item! However, in Ankha’s home, it is overwhelming. She also has the golden toilet, which is an odd choice as there is plenty of golden series furniture that would work better for her refined tastes. She has three golden caskets and a set of golden dishes.
The exterior of Ankha’s house in New Horizons is definitely the best out of all the versions, which makes the lacking interior even more disappointing. The outside of her home in New Horizons is a golden yellow with an orange stone roof. The coloring makes it a bit hard to place; I think Ankha’s home looks best by the beach.
Best Gifts for Ankha
Ankha is a bit hard to shop for because her preferences are incredibly specific. She likes items that are colorful or brown, and gorgeous or simple. Unfortunately, in both cases, these categories conflict with each other. It is easiest to focus on one aspect of Ankha’s preferences and try to find items that fit. Ankha looks terrible in colorful clothing (for the most part), so I tend to stick with gifting her brown, simple clothing.
Some items that work for Ankha are the Hanten jacket, gown coat, sweater dress, baggy shirt, bath towel wrap, round frame glasses, cook cap with logo, fuzzy vest, paperboy cap, faux-fur hat, or the tulip hat.
Ankha looks best in her original outfit, so I struggle with the idea of giving her clothes. However, giving her furniture is a great idea! Many Ankha fans have redone her home completely, as the original is kind of a disaster.
Some great options for Ankha’s home are the golden vase, lucky golden cat, scorpion lamp, katana, cool globe, the golden candlestick, golden dung beetle, zen style stone, ruined broken pillar, glowing moss statue, tiki torch, or the hyacinth lamp. There are many more furniture options that would work well in Ankha’s home, but these are my preferences.
Ankha in Pocket Camp
Ankha was only recently added to Pocket Camp, in January of 2022. Her default clothing is her mummy shirt, which is her default clothing in Animal Crossing New Leaf. Ankha’s preferred theme is historical. I like the decision to make her a historical-focused character. Even in the other Animal Crossing games, Ankha likes historical items, and her character design is certainly based on history as well.
Ankha can not be obtained through traditional means. To meet and invite Ankha to your campsite you must obtain her map by going on expeditions on Gulliver’s Ship. Her map can be found on the Tutu and Pals island. Once you get Ankha’s character map, you have to clear it with historical essence or leaf tickets at Blather’s Treasure Trek. If you have cleared Ankha’s map, you will be able to invite her to your campsite or cabin regardless of your friendship level.
Ankha’s description reads; “Ankha is a cat veiled in mystery… She may look young, but some have said she might actually be 3,000 years old! If that’s true, she’s holding up really well.” Ankha’s Pocket Camp description is interesting because it implies she could be a mummified version of Queen Cleopatra. Perhaps it is a reference to the idea that cats have nine lives and Ankha has been reborn numerous times throughout history.
She mainly gives wood as a reward for completing quests. You can obtain her mummy shirt at level seven friendship. Her crafting request is a pyramid, which you can unlock at level 15 friendship. Her catchphrase is the same as it is in the other Animal Crossing games, “me meow.”
Ankha’s Amiibo Card
Unsurprisingly, due to her popularity, Ankha’s Amiibo card is one of the most purchased of all Animal Crossing Amiibo cards. Ankha’s card is relatively well designed; she stands in the traditional mummy pose, with her arms crossed on her chest.
There are a few typical poses that Nintendo will put on the Amiibo cards; usually, the animals have one hand on a hip, they are smiling, or they are doing something cutesy. Ankha’s card strays from this model. Ankha’s Amiibo card is just another way in which she is unique from other villagers!
The background of Ankha’s card is green. She wears her mummy shirt, and she has the headdress she wears in all the games except City Folk. She is facing straight forward, her deep scowl on full display. Her hand sign is rock, and her dice value is three.
Ankha also has an e-reader card. The description on her e-reader is “Ankha’s face shines with beauty and the sparkle of the youth, but she claims she was a cat in Cleopatra’s court. That would make her 3,000 years old! How many years do nine lives make?” The e-reader description is similar to how she is described in Pocket Camp.
The idea that Ankha has been alive for 3,000 years is repeated a few times in her Animal Crossing history but is never confirmed as being true. Nintendo leaves it up to the player to decide whether or not Ankha is as old as she claims to be.
Ankha’s e-reader is number fourteen. She wears her red aloha shirt, which is her default clothing in the original Animal Crossing game. She is standing with her arms to the sky, and her body is positioned at a three-quarters angle. Her pose almost makes it look like she is praying to the heavens, or worshipping some kind of god. Both her e-reader card and her Amiibo card have Ankha in interesting poses that truly show off her personality.
Ankha Merchandise
Searching for Ankha merch can be fun; there is an extraordinary amount of Ankha art and designs out there! Tons of players want to sell items with their favorite Egyptian kitty on them. However, because of the recent TikTok meme and the not safe for work remakes of it, there are a lot of items that depict Ankha in a lude manner. If you don’t have a desire to see Ankha drawn in that way, it is a good idea to stick to reputable sites when looking for merch.
It was more difficult to find good Ankha merch, despite there being an overwhelming amount on the market. For the other villagers, it is usually only artists who are truly passionate about the villager who makes merch of them. But, for the more popular islanders, tons of people try to make designs just hoping to make a few bucks. This means that a lot of the merch misses the essence of the character, or looks half-hearted. I was able to find a few good items, which I will list here.
This Ankha tee is super cute! It has Ankha drawn in a chibi style, with three blush lines on her cheeks. She has her hands raised to the heavens, and her mouth slightly open, as if she is saying a prayer or incantation. She is wearing her mummy shirt, which is probably the most recognizable Ankha default clothing, despite the fact that she wears different default clothing in every game she has been in! My favorite part of this tee is the snake headdress on Ankha’s head.
The little snake looks a bit more conniving in this drawing, rather than happy or derpy in the original Animal Crossing design. Ankha’s mouth is clearly portraying her trademark scowl, but because it is a bit smaller on her face, it doesn’t come off as intense. The shirt comes in multiple different colors and styles, but I like the classic tee with a white background best. It is currently listed at $25.49, not including shipping.
The hieroglyphic Ankha phone case is a unique take on Ankha’s character design. I appreciate the nod to the ancient Egyptian language and art. I’m not sure that the art is exactly what Ankha would look like if she were drawn by a real ancient Egyptian, but it is an interesting characterization of our favorite Queen cat. Ankha is facing the side, and she is holding a staff of some kind. She wears her palatial dress in this art, and she has her traditional headdress on.
You can’t see the details of the headdress as well in this art, but that is made up for by the fact that the drawing is so different from almost anything else you can find for Ankha. This design is also sold as a sticker, laptop case, and tee-shirt, but I think it works best as a phone case. It comes in soft, tough, and snap style cases, and there are options for most phone types. The phone case is $23.10.
Finally, this adorable sticker shows Ankha with the cutest mummified puppy friend, Lucky! A lot of players like seeing Ankha and Lucky together, as they both have ancient Egypt, mummy theme. Ankha is slightly more regal than Lucky is, but they still make great pals. I like this design of them together because it has a bit more realism to the artwork. There is detailed shading on both Ankha and Lucky; the artist even included some of Lucky’s fur sticking out through his mummy wrap.
Ankha’s eyes are closed in this drawing, showcasing her eyeshadow that we so rarely get to see. It is also one of few artworks that shows Ankha smiling! I’m not sure if this is the best choice, given the fact that Ankha canonically never smiles. However, it does make the drawing much more adorable and heartwarming. You can get this sticker in three sizes, and the smallest size is sold for $2.57. It can also be purchased in a matte, glossy, or transparent finish.
FAQ’s
Question: What is Ankha’s Default Outfit?
Answer: Ankha has the most default outfits of any character in Animal Crossing! Her default clothing has changed in every main version of the game. In the side games, Pocket Camp and Happy Home designer, she wears her mummy tee. She also wears the mummy tee in her Amiibo card and in Animal Crossing New Leaf. This makes the mummy tee her most common default clothing.
However, her original outfit in the first game is the red aloha tee, it is the Egyptian outfit in City Folk, and it is the palatial tank dress in New Horizons. All of her outfits, with the exception of the red aloha tee, have some connection to her Egyptian style. My favorite default outfit is the Egyptian outfit that Ankha wears in City Folk. I was disappointed when they removed it in New Leaf. It is similar to the palatial tank dress, but with slightly more flair, which suits Ankha much better.
Question: What is Ankha’s Catchphrase?
Answer: Ankha’s catchphrase is one of few things about her that has remained the same in every version of the game! Her catchphrase is “me meow.” Most players don’t really love this catchphrase for Ankha, and it doesn’t fit her personality all that well.
There are many posts debating what the best change for Ankha’s catchphrase is once you have her on your island, but I like the changes that are more regal or queenly. Something like, “bow down” or “worship” or even “pleb/plebian” for something a bit funnier.
Question: What is Ankha’s Hobby?
Answer: Ankha has a nature hobby, which means that she can often be found reading books about nature, insects, fish, and plants. She will also take care of the island’s trees and flowers. It is always nice to have a villager with a nature hobby on your island, just in case you don’t feel like watering your flowers every day. Ankha will happily water flowers for you!
Conclusion
Ankha is the second most popular villager in Animal Crossing history. She has been controversial in Animal Crossing fandoms, due to her popularity and her extremely snooty attitude. Her character design is unique and sets her apart from other Animal Crossing villagers. She is clearly themed around ancient Egypt, particularly Queen Cleopatra.
Her home is full of ancient Egyptian items, and her clothing resembles ancient Egyptian clothes. Ankha has been part of the Animal Crossing franchise since the beginning, but she rose to popularity with a viral TikTok within the last year.
Ankha is certainly an interesting villager, and she can be a great addition to your island!
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