Kanae

Kanae (叶) is a male Japanese Virtual Youtuber who is a member of Nijisanji and formerly a member of the now-dissolved group, Nijisanji Gamers. Kanae debuted on the 2nd of May, 2018.

A young man with a healing presence and a fluffy, sweet way of speaking that can wash you away. He suddenly descended like an angel as he holds a cat cushion in his arms.undefined

Introduction Video
Kanae's introduction.

Personality
Kanae is a self-assured, charming individual who is one of the most popular members of Nijisanji.

His popularity can be owed to his sociable personality. He is particularly good at improv and can create witty responses to conversations often. His easy-going and friendly nature allows him to hold conversations effortlessly with others, giving him a wide social circle where he often collaborates with professional gamers, Utaites, and Nijisanji International members (despite the language barrier). He rarely loses his cool demeanor or raises his voice.

However, he is also a mischievous individual, often purposefully aggravating his fellow streamers with sarcastic jokes and actions. The saying "Kanae lies as he breathes" is a statement thrown out a lot in Kanae's fandom, for he's well known for lying very nonchalantly. He is often called a sadist because of how often he teases his collab partners. Despite this, Kanae is truthfully a very caring person who speaks highly of his friends at any chance. He famously comforted Yuki Chihiro when she cried on stream.

Appearance
Kanae has flowy ash-brown hair that has differing lengths on different avatars. He has very light tower-gray droopy eyes with a small mole under his left eye and has worn multiple differently styled clothes.

In his original outfit, Kanae has his hair styled in a fluffy bob cut with bangs and a white hairpin on his left side-bangs. He wears a black turtle-neck sweater under his mint-blue hoodie paired with brown and white striped sweatpants. He wears all of this with his orange and white slippers that have an animal paw design on the sole.

In his most recent outfit, Kanae has his hair styled in either a fluffy short bob cut with bangs and a black hairpin on his left side-bangs or a longer low-ponytail hairstyle with his left side-bangs tucked behind his left ear that has two black ear-cuffs on the helix and a black stud on his lobe. He wears an over-sized dark-gray cardigan with white pocket linings atop a light-gray knitted turtle-neck sweater. He accessorizes it with a silver necklace and puts two hairpins on his jacket. He wears wide-legged harem pants with ribbons on the side and leggings underneath. All of this is paired with black combat boots.

Background
Before joining Nijisanji, Kanae had auditioned for the second wave but didn't make it. He originally wasn't interested in becoming a VTuber, but after he heard that his friend was going to audition for Nijisanji, he decided to try as well. Although Kanae has been called a natural at any game he plays, he particularly excels at FPS games such as Apex Legends and VALORANT. He had received an invitation to join a PUBG gaming team but accepted an offer to join Nijisanji Gamers over this. Kanae made his YouTube debut on 2 May 2018.

Kanae's combined streaming time is the highest amongst Nijisanji members. Occasional off days aside, he will stream every single day - often multiple times a day - for extended periods of time.

2018
On 16 November 2018, Kanae announces his first new costume reveal and later reveals his new Winter 2018 Suit Outfit during an ASMR Livestream followed by a tweet with selfies and a bonus tweet with him standing with Joe Rikiichi. The original stream has now been privated and is no longer accessible to the public.

On 21 November 2018, Kanae announces a new costume reveal with Akabane Youko through a tweet with a photo of their silhouettes and after 2 days, on 23 November 2018, He revealed his new Game Day Military Outfit through a Livestream with Akabane Youko while they were commemorating their debut from half a year ago.

2019
Kanae's 3D model was 1st seen at the Nijisanji Music Festival on the 2nd of October 2019 but didn't hold his official 3D model YouTube Livestream until the 11th of November 2019.

On 25 November, Kanae announces his new 2D regular outfit and was later revealed on the same day through a commemorative reveal live-stream and then followed by a tweet with selfies.

2020
On 12 October, Kanae announced that he is now officially sponsored by the world leading company Logitech(also known as Logicool in Japan) and is now a "Logitech G Official Supporter". He expressed his joy in a subsequent Apex Livestream.

Events

 * On 18 September 2018, Kanae participated in the TOKYO GAME SHOW 2018 PUBG Battle as a member of "Team Ichikara" with Rin Shizuka, Iwanaga, and zoogaming.
 * On 2 October 2019, Kanae made his first unofficial appearance in his 3D Model at the Nijisanji Music Festival - Powered by DMMM Music. 
 * On 2 October 2019, Kanae participated in the concert event Nijisanji Music Festival - Powered by DMMM Music.
 * On 26 October 2019, Kanae performed with Kuzuha as ChroNoir on the last day of Nijisanji Week in the VtuberLand event in Yomiuri Land. The performance took place at the Nittele Ranran Hall.
 * On 3 November 2019, Kanae appeared with Kuzuha as ChroNoir in the Hareza Hall Opening Commemorative Event along with other very famous people like Nobuhiko Okamoto and Nobunaga Shimazaki.
 * On 3 November 2019, Kanae attended the LEGION OF CHAMPIONS 2019 Japan Qualifiers as one of the Live performers.
 * On 11 November 2019, Kanae held his official 3D model YouTube Livestream.
 * On 31 December 2019, Kanae along with Tsukino Mito and Shimazaki Nobunaga hosted Nijisanji's first TV Program and New Year's Eve Special "Nijisanji across the year".
 * On 13 February 2020, Kanae performed in the Zepp concert tour Nijisanji JAPAN TOUR 2020 Shout in the Rainbow! at the Zepp Fukuoka venue.
 * On 29 March 2020, Kanae appeared in the PUBG Legion Doujou Cup Vtuber Edition with fellow Liver Kuzuha as Guest Players for the tournament.
 * On 24 July 2020, Kanae participated in the Apex Rage x Legion Doujou Cup as a member of KanaChiiKuzu.
 * On 2 August 2020, Kanae participated in the Vtuber Apex Legends Tournament as a member of KanaChiiKuzu. The team ranked 3rd with Kanae 2nd in most damage and 4th in most kills.
 * On 7 August 2020, Kanae appeared in the Official Nijsanji booth for the BiliBili World 2020 Shanghai in Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center along with other Nijisanji Vtubers. The event lasted for 3 days and celebrated the event's end on the 9th of August 2020.
 * On 29 August 2020, Kanae participated in the Apex Legends Crazy Raccoon Cup as a member of KanaMinTo (Team consisted of Kanae, Admin, and Kamito). The team won and ranked 3rd.
 * On 7 September 2020, Kanae participated in the Nijisanji APEX 2434 Kill Relay as a member of KanaChiiKuzu.
 * On 18 September 2020, Kanae performed on the first day of the Kyo to Aki no Nijisanji live event at the annual Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair (also known as KyoMafu), alongside Kenmochi Toya and Kuzuha. Kanae and Kuzuha also served as the "Kyo Mafu 2020 Welcome Ambassadors".
 * On 31 October 2020, Kanae attended the final stage of SIE's (Sony Interactive Entertainment) PLAY ALIVE 2020: Apex Legends tournament as a guest host.
 * On 1 November 2020, Kanae participated in the 2nd Apex Legends Crazy Raccoon Cup as a member of KanaChiiKuzu. They placed 13th and won the Oji-san(Uncle) Award with prize money that's worth around $3000.

Catch-phrases

 * "~めう" | "Meu~"
 * "I am baby"
 * "バブバブ" (babu-babu) | "Goo goo gaa gaa" (baby noises)
 * "うっ…頭が…!" (utsu..atama ga...!) | "Ugh, my head hurts"
 * "I am Japanese ninja"

Mascot and Fans

 * Kanae is usually seen carrying around a cushion cat that is named "Roto" (ロト). Kanae apparently can't settle down if he isn't holding the cushion cat. Roto is a cat youkai that has possessed the body of a stuffed cat but he can also freely transform into anything. Roto speaks sparingly, in an extremely low voice, this paired with his cryptic personality, makes other Nijisanji mascots afraid of him.
 * Roto's favorite food being peoples' happiness.
 * Everyone who has heard Roto's voice always seem to die.
 * There has been speculation that Roto is the one who erased Kanae's memories of the past.
 * The cushion cat celebrates his birthday on the 10th of June.
 * Quotes:
 * "ﾛﾄﾀﾞﾖ…" (Roto dayo...) | "I'm Roto..."
 * "ｽﾞｯﾄ ﾐﾃﾙｶﾗﾈ…" (Zutto mitekara...) | "I'm always watching"
 * "ﾀﾞﾒﾀﾞﾖ..." (Dame dayo) | "That's no good" (Reply to Kanae's "Ugh, my head hurts")
 * Kanae's fans are called "叶え隊" (Kanae-tai)
 * More passionate fans and channel members are called "彼氏" (Kareshi, Boyfriend).
 * Whenever Kanae steps away from his stream, when he makes a mistake, or the viewers are waiting for the upcoming stream, members would spam " 叶 愛 chu&#9825; " to show support. Utako Suzuka even mentioned, "This chat is heaven." (コメント欄が天国).

Notable units within Nijisanji:

 * "ChroNoiR" (くろのわ) - Kanae and Kuzuha
 * Emoji: 🖤
 * Hashtags: #くろのわ - general hashtag | #くろのあとりえ - fanart hashtag
 * ChroNoir is general and vocal unit within Nijisanji that consists of Kanae and Kuzuha. The unit's name is from the fact that both Kanae and Kuzuha like the color black and from there, their name was made from the Japanese word "黒" (Kuro, Black) and the French word "Noir" (Black). ChroNoir was foreshadowed and was already unitized even before Kuzuha's debut in Nijisanji and is currently the only Nijisanji unit that has their own dedicated Youtube Channel.
 * "かなちーくず" (KanaChiKuzu) - Kanae, Yuuki Chihiro, and Kuzuha. These three have competed together as a team in multiple APEX Legends tournaments.
 * Hashtags: #かなちーくず - general hashtag
 * "かなえぼし" (Kanaeboshi) - Kanae and Hoshikawa Sara
 * Hashtags: #かなえぼし - general hashtag


 * Color: #ABD3D8
 * Kanae is featured on the Mahjong-focused magazine Kindai Mahjong's December 2020 magazine issue.
 * Kanae's female version, Kanako, was first seen in a stream from 2018. Kanako was a 24-year-old who performs in a musical as a living. Kanako looks the same as Kanae's original character, but unlike Kanae, Kanako has longer hair tied to a ponytail and wears shorts instead of pajamas. Kanako also has a smaller face with bigger eyes.


 * Preferences
 * Favourite anime: GANGSTA, 91days, and more
 * Favourite meal: Omurice
 * Ideal type: Someone who loves him
 * Favourite sushi ingredient: Salmon
 * Favourite colours: Black and Gray
 * Dislikes: Horror, Liars, Cheaters, and being called "Papa"


 * Other Nijisanji members (and Kanae's own viewers) have noted that Kanae has what they call a "madman side". This is because he has moments of breaking his normal gentle demeanor and turning into a completely different person, then calming down and pretending like it never happened. Tsukino Mito also recounted a tale from New Years' where Kanae convincingly lied about something "that had no benefit to him" whatsoever besides seeing the reaction when he revealed he was lying.
 * Tsukino Mito ranked Kanae as the person with the highest communication skills in Nijisanji in one of her livestreams.
 * One of the Four Emperors from NijiArk.
 * Currently the second most viewed Nijisanji liver just below Nijisanji's official Youtube channel.
 * Once streamed for 22 hours straight while playing Jump King the day before his birthday.
 * Kanae holds the longest first livestream in the history of Nijisanji with 9 hours 4 minutes and 56 seconds of video footage.
 * As of November 2020, Kanae has the 2nd highest superchat earning of any male Vtuber second only to fellow streamer Kuzuha.
 * Widely considered by other Nijisanji livers as one of the best video game players of Nijisanji.
 * Kanae has mentioned before that either he or his mother is half Japanese, which in either case would make him part Japanese.
 * Kanae loves ego-surfing and he also religiously searches his own Twitter hashtag whenever he can. So much so, that he ego-surfs even during a PUBG match on a live-stream. Because of this, he earned the nickname "戦場エゴサ芸人" or "battlefield ego-surfer" in English. He says he does this because he suffers from a medical condition that requires regular ego-surfing and that he regularly does this 100 times a day.
 * Kanae is said to have a beautiful sleeping face. At one time, Saegusa Akina was tempted to kiss a sleeping Kanae while he was staying in his house and so in order to stop himself, he just bid him farewell and left.
 * According to him, the reason why he enjoys playing video games was because his father was a gamer himself and because of this Kanae has extensive knowledge of older games.
 * Kanae has a weird habit of dozing off while talking to someone during a call.
 * Kanae has an official sticker set on the mobile messaging app LINE called "Baby Kanae Sticker" on the LINE Store along with other Vtuber stickers such as Honma Himawari's "Honma Himawari stamps (Easy to use)" stickers and many more.

Character and Lore

 * Kanae has amnesia and doesn't remember his childhood very well. Though one thing he is sure about is that the earliest memories he could recall, he was already holding his cushion cat named Roto. Because of this, Kanae can't settle down without Roto near him.
 * Kanae has talked about his past, such as his school days and even his childhood, in streams, despite this being part of his lore.

Products/ Equipment

 * Gaming PC
 * CPU: Intel Core i9-9900K
 * Graphics Card: ASUS ROG RTX 2080Ti| Geforce GTX 1050 Ti
 * Memory: 32GB RAM
 * Livestreaming PC
 * CPU: Intel Core i9-9900K
 * Graphics Card: ASUS ROG RTX 2080Ti
 * Memory: 32GB RAM
 * Peripherals
 * Monitor: BenQ ZOWIE XL2546 | 2 BenQ 24inch GL2460
 * Keyboard: Logitech G213 Gaming Keyboard
 * Mouse: Logitech G703 | Logitech G903
 * Mouse pad: Logitech G440
 * Capture board: AVerMedia C988
 * Audio interface: RME Babyface pro
 * Headphones: Shure SRH440 | Sony MDR-CD900st
 * Microphone: Neumann TLM 103
 * Kanae has been described as quite feminine. He takes good care of his skin and hair and even mentions this in one collab with Hoshikawa . The item he uses are the following:
 * Shampoo: Nu Skin Moisturizing Shampoo - Moist
 * Facial Cleanser: Rosette Cleansing Paste Kaidei Smooth
 * Skin Care: SK-II Facial Treatment Essence → Albion Skin Conditioner
 * Lip balm: Nivea
 * Perfume: Salvatore Ferragamo F Free Time Eau De Toilette

Live Chat Etiquette

 * Vtuber chat etiquette is cleanly summarized here: "Vtuber Chat Etiquette"
 * Use Kanae's Free Chatroom for communicating with other fans on Youtube.
 * Additional rules in Kanae's Live Chat:
 * Avoid giving Superchats during a collaboration.
 * Avoid using profanity or inappropriate expressions
 * Avoid referencing other Vtubers in the chat/ avoid mentioning that you came from a specific Vtuber channel.
 * When someone is in trouble during a stream, don't make fun of them. Instead, it is appreciated that people that know the same language as you to assist them.

Media

 * Kanae Channel - YouTube Channel
 * kanae_2434 - Official Twitch Channel
 * 叶Official - Kanae's official Bilibili Channel
 * @Kanae_2434 - Kanae's official Twitter Account
 * @kanae-iroiro - Kanae's 2nd official Twitter Account
 * @23_kanae - Kanae's official OPENREC.tv Channel
 * 叶＠にじさんじ - Kanae's official TwitCasting Channel
 * Kanae's corporate profile on the official Nijisanji website
 * 叶＠にじさんじゲーマーズ - Kanae's official Tiktok account
 * 叶（にじさんじゲーマーズ）- Kanae's official NicoNico Douga Channel

Twitter Hashtags

 * #かなえーる - Kanae's general hashtag
 * #かな絵 - Kanae's fanart hashtag (Use only if you are alright with Kanae using your art e.g thumbnails)
 * #密かな絵 - Kanae's fanart hashtag
 * #叶の備忘録 - Tagging stream clips/compilations
 * #叶のボイスメモ - Voice impressions

Further Readings

 * 叶 - Kanae's Unofficial Nijisanji Wiki
 * 叶 - Kanae's Nicovideo Encyclopedia