TV-Series
Description
Kaede Saitou is a sixteen-year-old high school sophomore and a central figure in her circle of mountaineering friends. She was born on January 16, stands approximately 164 centimeters tall, and has AB blood type. Physically, Kaede is tall and well-proportioned, with long, straight black hair that reaches her waist and glasses that she typically wears. Her most distinctive feature is a stark contrast between her naturally good figure and her complete indifference to fashion and personal grooming. When at home, she is often seen in nothing but a sports bra and a pair of shorts, and even when going out, she puts little effort into her appearance. Her friends, including Aoi and her classmate Yuuka, frequently remark that she is a waste of a good figure and try, with limited success, to encourage her to dress more femininely.
Kaede's personality is built on a foundation of independence, reliability, and a pragmatic, no-nonsense attitude, particularly when the subject turns to mountains. Outside of her passion for climbing, however, she is notably lazy and disinterested in most aspects of daily life, including cooking, at which she is notably unskilled. She is also careless about her studies, despite possessing a sharp intellect. While she rarely applies herself, if she were to become serious about her schoolwork, she could easily rank among the top ten students in her entire grade. This untapped potential is a source of frustration for her studious friend, Yuuka. Her motivations are deeply tied to the freedom and solitude of the mountains. Initially, Kaede was a dedicated solo climber, finding the experience of being alone on a trail to be completely freeing, as it allowed her to make decisions and move without having to consider anyone else. This preference for solitude was so strong that she consistently refused invitations to join the formal mountaineering club, feeling that its structured activities were not the kind of climbing she wanted.
Kaede’s role in the story is primarily that of an experienced mentor and a catalyst for the main group's growth. She first meets the protagonist, Aoi Yukimura, while shopping for a sleeping bag in a local outdoor equipment store. For Aoi, who is shy and has a fear of heights, Kaede becomes the first new friend she has made outside of her childhood companion, Hinata. As an upperclassman at the same school, Kaede shares her extensive knowledge and experience with Aoi and the others, offering crucial advice on gear, techniques, and safety, thus serving as a reliable mountain teacher. Her key relationships are defined by this dynamic. With Aoi, she is a patient and supportive mentor, willing to slow her own pace to help the novice climber improve. With her non-climbing friend Yuuka Sasahara, a classmate who worries about her safety, Kaede learns a different lesson. After a past incident where she sprained her ankle on a solo climb, Kaede realized that her independence could hurt those who cared about her, teaching her that climbing with others, while less free, comes with the comfort of not having to be alone. She also relies on the younger but more academically inclined Kokona Aoba for help with her homework, reversing their typical mentor-student relationship.
Kaede's development is a gradual shift from a solitary enthusiast to a valued member of a team. While she was once content to charge ahead on her own, her experiences with Aoi, Hinata, and Yuuka change her stance on mountain climbing. She begins to understand the value of companionship and the shared experience, willingly taking on the responsibility of looking out for the other girls during their climbs. However, she retains her core aversion to formal clubs and continues to reject invitations to join them, valuing the informal, friendship-driven nature of her group outings. In terms of notable abilities, Kaede is a highly skilled and experienced hiker, capable of undertaking multi-day solo traversals of mountain ranges. Her athleticism is generally high, though it has notable blind spots: she is a very weak swimmer, describing herself as a stone in the water, and she harbors a fear of using knives, which makes her poor at food preparation despite being able to manage basic campfire cooking. Her true capability lies not just in her physical strength, but in her deep, practical knowledge of the mountains and her reliability as a friend and guide.
Kaede's personality is built on a foundation of independence, reliability, and a pragmatic, no-nonsense attitude, particularly when the subject turns to mountains. Outside of her passion for climbing, however, she is notably lazy and disinterested in most aspects of daily life, including cooking, at which she is notably unskilled. She is also careless about her studies, despite possessing a sharp intellect. While she rarely applies herself, if she were to become serious about her schoolwork, she could easily rank among the top ten students in her entire grade. This untapped potential is a source of frustration for her studious friend, Yuuka. Her motivations are deeply tied to the freedom and solitude of the mountains. Initially, Kaede was a dedicated solo climber, finding the experience of being alone on a trail to be completely freeing, as it allowed her to make decisions and move without having to consider anyone else. This preference for solitude was so strong that she consistently refused invitations to join the formal mountaineering club, feeling that its structured activities were not the kind of climbing she wanted.
Kaede’s role in the story is primarily that of an experienced mentor and a catalyst for the main group's growth. She first meets the protagonist, Aoi Yukimura, while shopping for a sleeping bag in a local outdoor equipment store. For Aoi, who is shy and has a fear of heights, Kaede becomes the first new friend she has made outside of her childhood companion, Hinata. As an upperclassman at the same school, Kaede shares her extensive knowledge and experience with Aoi and the others, offering crucial advice on gear, techniques, and safety, thus serving as a reliable mountain teacher. Her key relationships are defined by this dynamic. With Aoi, she is a patient and supportive mentor, willing to slow her own pace to help the novice climber improve. With her non-climbing friend Yuuka Sasahara, a classmate who worries about her safety, Kaede learns a different lesson. After a past incident where she sprained her ankle on a solo climb, Kaede realized that her independence could hurt those who cared about her, teaching her that climbing with others, while less free, comes with the comfort of not having to be alone. She also relies on the younger but more academically inclined Kokona Aoba for help with her homework, reversing their typical mentor-student relationship.
Kaede's development is a gradual shift from a solitary enthusiast to a valued member of a team. While she was once content to charge ahead on her own, her experiences with Aoi, Hinata, and Yuuka change her stance on mountain climbing. She begins to understand the value of companionship and the shared experience, willingly taking on the responsibility of looking out for the other girls during their climbs. However, she retains her core aversion to formal clubs and continues to reject invitations to join them, valuing the informal, friendship-driven nature of her group outings. In terms of notable abilities, Kaede is a highly skilled and experienced hiker, capable of undertaking multi-day solo traversals of mountain ranges. Her athleticism is generally high, though it has notable blind spots: she is a very weak swimmer, describing herself as a stone in the water, and she harbors a fear of using knives, which makes her poor at food preparation despite being able to manage basic campfire cooking. Her true capability lies not just in her physical strength, but in her deep, practical knowledge of the mountains and her reliability as a friend and guide.