Kaede Hondo

Hondo was born in Aichi Prefecture.[2][3] She had an interest in anime from a young age, in particular the Naruto series.[4] She became interested in acting and modelling after an incident during her fifth year of elementary, when a woman came close to her saying she has "a face that goes well with makeup".[3][4] Not knowing immediately what that should mean, she made some research on her own later, and came to believe she was told she has a face suitable for an actress or a model.[3][4] She would then start auditioning for various acting and modelling jobs, but she did not initially consider voice acting as an option.[4] As she had a desire to perform in front of people, upon entering high school, she joined her school's theater club.[3] While in high school, Hondo acted in school plays and also participated in activities, such as swimming, basketball, soft tennis and softball.[2] While in her third year of school, one of her instructors was a radio personality, and her experiences with them and the club influenced her to decide to become a voice actor.[4] In pursuit of this career, she enrolled at the Japan Narration Actor Institute.[2][3] After completing her training, she became affiliated with the voice acting agency I'm Enterprise.[5] She made her voice acting debut in 2015, playing minor roles in series such as Aoharu × Machinegun.[2][6] Later that year, she was cast in her first main role as Kokoro Yotsuba, the protagonist of the anime series Kamisama Minarai: Himitsu no Cocotama.[2][7]

In 2016, Hondo played the roles for Keijo!!!!!!!! and Girlish Number;[8] she and the other main cast members of Girlish Number also performed the series' opening theme "Bloom" and ending theme "Ima wa Mijikashi Yumemiyo Otome" (今は短し夢見よ乙女).[9] The following year, she played the roles of Hikari Takanashi in Interviews with Monster Girls,[10] Kon Tatsumi in Urara Meirocho,[11] and Minoa Asagaya in Anime-Gataris.[12] In 2018, she played the roles of Kanami Etō in Katana Maidens ~ Toji No Miko,[13] Koyume Koizuka in Comic Girls,[14] Hitomi Mishima in Hinamatsuri,[15] Kohaku Tsukishiro in Iroduku: The World in Colors[16] and Sakura Minamoto in Zombie Land Saga.[17]

In 2019, at the 13th Seiyu Awards, Hondo was one of the winners of the Best New Actresses award. The same year, she played the roles of Sempai in Magical Sempai,[18] and Natsuki Saotome in Val × Love.[19] In 2020, she played the roles of Maple in Bofuri,[20] and Elaina in Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina.[21] In 2021, she played the role of Laika in I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level,[22] reprised the role of Sakura Minamoto in the second season of Zombie Land Saga, and also played the roles of Flora Beltrum in Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles,[23] Hana Yurikawa in Mieruko-chan,[24] Anna Schneider in Takt Op. Destiny,[25] and Sumire Motiki in Deep Insanity: The Lost Child.[26]

• Official agency profile (in Japanese)
• Kaede Hondo at Anime News Network's encyclopedia