Kaede Akamatsu

Kaede Akamatsu (赤松 楓 Akamatsu Kaede) is a character featured in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony and a participant in the Killing School Semester.

Character
Kaede has the title of Ultimate Pianist (超高校級の「ピアニスト」 chō kōkō kyū no “Pianisuto” Super High School Level Pianist), owing to her prowess in playing the piano since childhood and winning various awards.

Het

 * Amamatsu - the ship between Rantarou Amami and Kaede
 * Kaimatsu - the ship between Kaito Momota and Kaede
 * Kiiede - the ship between K1-B0 and Kaede
 * Nakaede - the ship between Makoto Naegi and Kaede
 * Saimatsu - the ship between Shuichi Saihara and Kaede

Femslash

 * Irumatsu - the ship between Miu Iruma and Kaede
 * Kaemugi - the ship between Kaede and Tsumugi Shirogane
 * Nursery Rhymes - the ship between Kaede and Maki Harukawa
 * Tenkaede - the ship between Kaede and Tenko Chabashira

Poly

 * Amakaedshu - the ship between Rantarou Amami, Shuichi Saihara, and Kaede
 * Kaeibuzono - the ship between Ibuki Mioda, Kaede, and Sayaka Maizono

Trivia

 * Kaede is known as a 'false protagonist' or a 'decoy protagonist', which are terms used in media to describe a character who is depicted as a protagonist only to be killed immediately, or somewhere early on in the story.
 * Due to the unreliable nature of Danganronpa V3 and the students' backstories, it's not certain if Kaede's twin sister exists. It is also possibly a reference to Kaede's Japanese voice actress: Sayaka Kanda, who played Junko and Mukuro in the Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair stage play adaptions.
 * Kaede was first revealed as part of the Danganronpa V3 trailer first shown at Tokyo Game Show 2016, along with the avatars of the rest of the game's cast which up until that point were only shown as silhouettes. While all other characters were only revealed by appearance, Kaede's character name, as well as her Japanese voice actress, Sayaka Kanda, were revealed during the trailer, and it is actually presented by herself.
 * She is the first protagonist in the primary game that has a skill for a talent, along with being the first female protagonist in the primary line of the Danganronpa series.
 * During the trailer, Kaede introduces herself as the game's "protagonist" (主人公 shujinkō), and is shown participating in a Class Trial.
 * According to the English localization's character heights, Kaede (5'8") is taller than Shuichi (5'7"), which is why some players assumed that a one scene with the two had incorrect art. However, in the Japanese version, Kaede is shorter than Shuichi.
 * Kaede's Japanese voice actress, Sayaka Kanda, has already contributed to Danganronpa franchise as a whole both as a singer (as part of the group TRUSTRICK), singing the opening to Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School/Future Arc alongside Maon Kurosaki as well as its ending, and as a stage actress - playing Junko Enoshima (and Mukuro Ikusaba) in the Danganronpa stage plays.
 * Kanda is also married to Mondo Owada's stage actor for Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE 2016, Mitsu Murata.
 * Kaede's English voice actress, Erika Harlacher, also voices Kyoko Kirigiri in Danganronpa games.
 * In a poll hosted by MyNavi, fans voted Kaede the 3rd most popular Danganronpa V3 student out of 16.
 * Japanese gaming magazine Dengeki from April 27th, 2017 to May 22nd, 2017 held two popularity polls, one that was voted electronically and the other via post cards. Kaede was voted the 4th most popular student in the electronic poll, and most popular through post cards.