Kodansha USA is proud to have Akane Torikai – the unflinching creator behind the thought-provoking drama, Sensei’s Pious Lie – as a featured guest of this year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF). And to celebrate Kodansha is offering digital wallpapers of Akane Torikai’s work to fans worldwide – read on for more info!
Being held this year at the Toronto Reference Library from June 17-19, 2022, TCAF is an internationally acclaimed comic book festival that spotlights a number of acclaimed creators and independent publishers. With Torikai-sensei as one of the festival’s featured guest fans will have multiple times to hear her speak, see her draw, and also get her autograph across the show.
For a full list of times and locations to meet with Torikai-sensei at TCAF 2022 see below:
Akane Torikai at TCAF 2022 Schedule of Appearances
Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2022
When: June 17-19, 2022
Where: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W 2G8, Canada
Friday, June 17, 2022
6:30 PM: Kick-off Panel: The Next 20 Years – Toronto Reference Library, Salon
Come celebrate 20 years with TCAF at the Festival’s opening kickoff! We’ve seen a lot of amazing creators come through the festival over the last two decades, but for tonight’s celebration, we want to highlight great new voices taking over the industry right now: Tillie Walden (My Parents Won’t Stop Talking, Spinning), Emma Hunsinger (My Parents Won’t Stop Talking), Kat Simmers (Pass Me By), Conor Stechschulte (Ultrasound), and Akane Torikai (Sensei’s Pious Lie). These creators have their fingers on the pulse of the comics industry. What new directions are they taking it in? What important stories are there left to tell? What are the gaps still left to fill in this industry? We’ll talk about all this and more in the opening panel.
Saturday, June 18, 2022
10:00 – 11:00 AM: Akane Torikai Spotlight – Toronto Reference Library, Hinton Learning Theatre
Manga creator Akane Torikai makes her North American comics festival debut at TCAF 2022! In Sensei’s Pious Lie, Torikai explores the intersections of sex, violence, gender, and power through her naturalistic style and painful honesty. Join veteran manga critic Brigid Alverson in this thought-provoking and revealing panel on Torikai’s groundbreaking work.
11:30 AM -12:30 PM: Akane Torikai Autograph Session – Toronto Reference Library, Signing Area
2:00 – 3:00 PM: Live Drawing featuring Akane Torikai @ JFT – The Japan Foundation, Toronto
Watch manga being made before your very eyes! Award-winning artist Akane Torikai pulls back the curtain behind her creative process as she draws live on stage and chats about everything from favourite pen to her English-language debut, Sensei’s Pious Lie, and her ongoing series Saturn Return.
Sunday, June 19, 2022
12:00- 1:00 PM: Akane Torikai Autograph Session – Toronto Reference Library, Signing Area
Special Digital Wallpaper Giveaway:
In celebration of Akane Torikai’s special appearance at TCAF 2022 we are giving away digital wallpapers featuring stunning art from Torikai’s Sensei’s Pious Lie.
Download wallpapers here: Desktop // Mobile Device
Sensei’s Pious Lie Free Chapter 1 Preview:
If you haven’t yet experienced Sensei’s Pious Lie – the poignant exploration on the emotional fallout of sexual assault – you can read the first chapter free below.
About Akane Torikai: Torikai was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1981. In 2004, she made her manga debut in the monthly magazine Bessatsu Shojo Friend DX Juliet. Her first serialized work in a young men’s magazine was Ohayou Okaeri, which was published in Morning Two. This was followed by Sensei’s Pious Lie, which drew widespread attention for its focus on the theme of sexual violence. In addition, Onna no Ie, a series about two sisters who must live under one roof, made the list for Takarajimasha’s Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (This Manga is Amazing!) in the women’s category, while Jigoku no Girlfriend, a story about three women made housemates by chance, was adapted into a live-action TV show. Her latest ongoing series, Saturn Return, which is published weekly in Big Comic Spirits magazine, is a mystery that revolves around suicide and loss.
About Sensei’s Pious Lie: Torikai’s work is a frank and nuanced examination of the emotional and practical effects of sexual violence, rendering the messy realities in gorgeously refined linework and dialogue far more naturalistic than most manga. The author veers away from blunt indictment to paint one of the most complex and fascinating psychological portraits of both rapist and victim in any medium. Very much not just for manga fans, Sensei’s Pious Lie will appeal to readers of graphic novels and literary fiction in general.
Source: Kodansha Comics
