I love unpopular villagers! They tend to cycle through my New Leaf town a LOT and some of my favorites of the bunch have been in my NH town, so here's ten of my favorites.
1. Henry. Poor dude gets overshadowed by the sheer number of really popular smugs. He's got a simple design and he rocks it. He's probably my favorite frog, honestly. Speaking of frogs...
2. Ribbot. This little dude is easily my favorite jock (although I haven't had Dom or Roald), and he's a pleasant sight in my NL town. The robot design really suits the frogs, and I'm bummed he doesn't get more love compared to someone like Genji.
3. Hippeux. Oh god please don't kill me I know the hippos are a little... unpleasant on the eyes, but he's a total sweetheart and I'm a big fan of his house. Haven't gotten him in NH though.
4. Elvis. Best lion by a pretty large margin. Rory also isn't bad but Elvis is probably the most well-designed lion imo. His name is pretty clever and I can't wait for the day that I can turn his greeting into "Hakuna matata" and his catchphrase to "wimoweh". The face he makes when he waves is one of the most adorable things in the game.
5. Hopkins. I still don't get why this one doesn't get more love. I find him cuter than other villagers like Marshal, Sherb, and basically any of the cats. Are people just creeped out because he's inflatable? I honestly don't know. He's too adorable and pure to go as unnoticed as he did.
6. Keaton. This eagle might honestly be the perfect embodiment of a smug villager. People don't like him because of his glare, but it's honestly perfect for this type of villager. Smug is the word that first came to my mind when I saw them, and I didn't even connect the dots and assume he was smug. He just fit the personality that well imo.
7. Nana. She's currently in my mom's town but she really gives me a grandma vibe. She's so sweet and she's also by far the best looking monkey to me.
8. Avery. Again, another overlooked eagle. I think the only reason Avery doesn't get acknowledged as much is because he's a cranky eagle that has to compete with Apollo, who is a classic fan favorite. His design is really cool, and I love his house. I think the Avery love is starting to build up more because I see island hopping videos where people praise him pretty heavily, and I hope that it snowballs more and he gets more of the recognition he deserves.
9. Julia. Like Avery, I think the love for her is starting to build up more, but the ostriches in general don't get talked about anywhere near as much as they should for their awesome designs. She's still pretty new to my island but she's a fun presence nonetheless.
10. Rory. I saved the most underrated one for last. He's far from my favorite. Like I said, I prefer Elvis, but I think Rory's the most properly underrated of the bunch here. Henry has a small following, Ribbot is well-regarded by jock standards, Hippeux is not exactly my favorite design-wise (putting it lightly) and my praises stem from his house and personality more than anything so I can see where the dislike comes from, Elvis is well-regarded by lion standards, Hopkins had a moment in the spotlight not too long ago with the Hopkins vs. O'Hare debates, Keaton is still fairly well-liked, Nana is well-regarded by monkey standards, Avery's popularity is growing little by little, and the same can be said about Julia. But Rory? Nothing. People freak out when they see him in island hopping videos, I've seen him get disregarded for being a lion and a jock, but his design is actually different and he sings a LOT thanks to his music hobby (which everyone seems to love). The lions in general have pretty boring designs and his is way different from the norm, and I'm all for the Chinese inspiration in his design. I intend to let him go soon so I can try to find a new jock to work out with, but he deserves so, so much more appreciation than he gets.