Kaede Hozuki

Kaede Hozuki ( かえで, Hozuki Kaede) is the high-school aged older sister of Momiji Hozuki and the best friend of Mihari Oyama, having met when they were in middle school. She is also friends with Mahiro Oyama and her friends, acting as a big sister figure to all of them. She is voiced by Hisako Kanemoto in the anime.

Appearance
Kaede is a tall high school girl, being nearly a head taller than Mahiro and her friends. She has long pink hair that she usually keeps tied up in ponytail using a scrunchie. She rarely lets it down except when she is relaxing at home, and only when she knows that there won't be unexpected company. In the anime her hair also contains turquoise streaks. The anime also reveals that pink is not her natural hair color, and that it is in fact the same reddish color as Miyo's. She started dying it its current color when she entered high school.

Kaede has a very well developed figure with a narrow waist and large bust (the latter of which is comically oversized in the anime), which shows off her maturity and femininity. She is shown to wear a large variety of outfits that emphasize her fashion sense and commitment to beauty.

Personality
Kaede is an extremely kind, caring, and feminine girl. She is more than willing to help those that ask her for it, and has shown Mihari, Mahiro, and the rest of Mahiro's friends how to cook and helped them pick out swimsuits.

Keade is very close to Momiji, caring for her in the same way that she does for all of her friends.

Kaede blossomed during middle school, and quickly learned to use her new assets to her advantage. As a result, she is an expert in fashion, hair styling, makeup, and cooking. Her cooking is very well regarded amongst Mahiro and her friends as a result. She fully believes that beauty is pain and that one should always use what they have to their advantage, as seen when she kept her legs bare despite freezing cold weather.

She is also very open minded to other people's personalities and desires. When helping Mahiro and her friends pick out swimsuits, she was able to give options to make the best of each of their bodies while catering to their own personalities (shown when she gave Miyo a cute swimsuit that would minimize her cleavage and draw eyes off of it), while at the same time presenting more daring options. She is also more than willing to lend her clothes to those in a pinch.

As a result of her kindness and knowledge, the other girls love Kaede and look up to her like a big sister.

Kaede is said to not be very good at school and is thus regularly seen coming over to the Oyama's house to study with Mihari. She attributes this however to her constantly working which would otherwise not leave her with much time to study on her own.

Kaede's one weakness is being reminded of her middle school self. Since she ditched that image upon entering high school, she becomes extremely embarrassed whenever someone other than herself brings up how she used to look, and even more so whenever someone shows pictures of that other self to others. Kaede is also afraid of thunder, a trait that she shares with Mihari.

Etymology

 * The name Kaede means "maple" (楓) (kaede).
 * The name Hozuki means "ears" (穂) (ho) and "moon" (zuki) (月).

Trivia

 * In the original Japanese version, Kaede refers to herself as あたし (atashi), a feminine first-person pronoun which sounds quite casual and endearing.

Manga

 * Mahiro's Unexpected Encounter
 * Mahiro and the Girls' Day Out
 * Mahiro and Kaede's Secret
 * Mahiro the Own-Home Security Guard
 * Mihari and Her Onii-Chan
 * Mahiro Falls in Love
 * Mahiro's Wholesome Playdate
 * Mahiro Attends a Party
 * Mahiro's Panic! At the Hot Spring (Part 1)
 * Mahiro's Panic! At the Hot Spring (Part 2)
 * Mahiro and the Comrade's Return
 * Mahiro's Perm
 * Mihari's Wardrobe
 * Mihari's Wardrobe Afterwards
 * Kaede's Concern
 * Mahiro's Difficult Class
 * Mahiro's Exciting Weekend
 * Mahiro the Patissier
 * Mahiro's Double Date
 * Mahiro Rings in the New Year
 * Mahiro and the Spicy Kiss
 * Mahiro and the Allure of Bare Legs
 * Mahiro on Valentine's Day
 * Mahiro and the Guidance of the Stars
 * Mahiro Pretties Up
 * Mihari and the High School Girls
 * Mahiro's Relaxing Day Off
 * Momiji's Massage
 * Mahiro's Big Secret (Part 1)
 * Mihari's Skipped Grades
 * Mahiro and the Gifted Experience
 * Mahiro and the Perfume
 * Mahiro and the Barbecue Secret
 * Mahiro and the Seasonal Attire
 * Mahiro and the Sunshine Girl
 * Kaede's Nickname
 * Mahiro and the Parent-Teacher Conference
 * Mahiro's Colorful Life
 * Mahiro and the Rainy Season
 * Mahiro and the Little Garden
 * Mahiro, the Sun, and the Northern Wind
 * Girls and Boys
 * Mahiro and the Strategy Meeting
 * Nayuta's Swimsuit
 * Kaede and the Junior High Girls
 * Mahiro's Beach Fun (Part 1)
 * Mahiro's Beach Fun (Part 2)