Kaede Akamatsu

Kaede Akamatsu (赤松 楓 Akamatsu Kaede) is the main protagonist of New Danganronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing.

Since her childhood, Kaede is always playing piano. Before long, she began winning contest after contest, to the point where she had the title of Ultimate Pianist (超高校級の「ピアニスト」chō kōkō kyū no “Pianisuto”) bestowed upon her.

Appearance
Kaede has long light blonde hair with a very slight greenish tint and a prominent ahoge. She wears silver music note hairpins and has purple eyes.

She wears her high school uniform, which consists of a long-sleeved white shirt completed with a light purple vest adorned with an insignia and a brownish-red tie. She wears a purple skirt adorned with a black music staves and notes pattern, purple stockings reaching below her knees and beige shoes.

Kaede also seems to carry around a white backpack.

Personality
Kaede is an optimistic hard worker. As a leader type with a firm character, she herself takes the lead and pulls the other students along. She has a strong will and doesn't hesitate to take action, her notable character trait being her strong sense of belief in herself and others.

She can lie during the Class Trials, though she looks uncomfortable doing so and according to Kokichi Oma she does that to strengthen the group's unity. She strives to encourage and befriend the other students and get them out of the school.

According to Kaede's voice actress, Sayaka Kanda, Kaede is very protagonist-like and always pulling the others along cheerfully; a typical heroine that is very dependable.

Ultimate Pianist
Being the Ultimate Pianist, she is very skilled in playing the piano since young age. She gained the title after winning a contest.

New Danganronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Kaede has played piano a lot since very young age. Because of it, her friends even called her "piano idiot". She won several contests and thus obtained the title Ultimate Pianist.

Shuichi Saihara
Shuichi seems to strongly believe in Kaede, reassuring her and telling her that "if it's her, she can do it".

Rantaro Amami
Rantaro admires Kaede for her leadership skills.

Monokuma
Kaede feels intense resentment for Monokuma, who forced the students into the killing game.

Quotes

 * “Ah, that's right... My name is Kaede Akamatsu. I'm the Ultimate Pianist. Nice to meet you.”
 * “Because I believe in you all...I need you all to believe in me!”
 * “Once we get out, we'll all be friends.”

Trivia

 * Kaede's last name, Akamatsu (赤松), is the Japanese name for a kind of tree known as the "Japanese red pine".
 * Her given name, Kaede (楓), means "maple tree".
 * Kaede was first revealed as part of the New 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 voice actress were revealed during the trailer, and it is actually presented by herself.
 * During the trailer, Kaede introduces herself as the game's "protagonist" (主人公 shujinkō), and is shown participating in a class trial.
 * Kaede's voice actress, Sayaka Kanda, has already contributed to the 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 Academy - Side: Future  alongside Maon Kurosaki as well as its ending, and as a stage actress - playing Junko Enoshima (and Mukuro Ikusaba) in the Danganronpa stage plays.
 * She is the first protagonist in game that has a skill for a talent, along with being the first female protagonist in the primary line of the Danganronpa series.