In 2020, when Kodansha, a major Japanese publisher of manga and prose, decided to restructure its American subsidiaries, it sought someone with a proven track record in developing and expanding the US market. Fortunately, they already had a perfect candidate in Alvin Lu. As general manager of Kodansha Advanced Media, he oversaw the distribution of Kodansha’s digital content and was well-versed in expanding the Company’s market presence in the United States.
Since taking on his new role as president and CEO of Kodansha USA Publishing, Alvin has been successfully introducing fresh and exciting manga and prose to an eager American audience. One of those titles is the long-awaited sequel to Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s “Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window, as described in this recent press release:
Kodansha USA to Release Long-Awaited Sequel to Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Bestselling Memoir
Japanese pop-culture icon Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, whose bestselling autobiography Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, first published in 1981, did as much as any book to set the tone for Japan’s postwar culture, has now published her long-awaited sequel to that memoir. The original installment, Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, which chronicled the writer’s Tokyo childhood and eclectic school life in the run-up to World War II, quickly soared past all previous publishing records in Japan; by the end of 1982, it had become the bestselling book in the country’s history, a distinction it maintains with over 8 million domestic sales to date. A true international phenomenon, it has gone on to sell an astounding, Guinness World Record-breaking 26 million copies worldwide in dozens of languages. Now, over four decades later, Kodansha USA will release the first-ever English translation of Kuroyanagi’s recently published and eagerly anticipated follow-up, Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel, translated by Yuki Tejima.
Author and cultural icon, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
I’m excited to share that my memoir, Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel, will soon be released in English. It has been over forty years in the making and I put my whole heart and soul into it. I hope you all enjoy it.
Kuroyanagi ended her original, seminal memoir with a heartbreaking scene in which her beloved elementary school, Tomoe Gakuen, burned down amidst the air raids of World War II. Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel begins with her family’s frantic effort to escape Tokyo and the worst horrors of the war. In it, Kuroyanagi details how little Totto persevered through starvation and suffering to become a trailblazing actress, a champion for the deaf and children the world over, and one of the most successful entertainers in Japanese history. Now in her nineties, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi has said of her motivation for penning The Sequel, “I wanted to write about the war while I still remember it.”
Already an established literary classic, Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window reached a new generation in 2023 with the release of an anime film adaptation of the story. The critically lauded picture was produced and animated by Shin-Ei Animation, distributed by TOHO, and directed by Shinnosuke Yakuwa, Yuta Kanbe, and Kunio Kato, with Liliana Ono in the leading role as Totto-chan. Kodansha USA has arranged a screening of the acclaimed film at the Japan Society in New York on November 25, 2025.
To commemorate this long-awaited release, Kodansha USA will be sponsoring the following book-launch events in New York City:
Book talk with Translator Yuki Tejima at the New York Public Library 53rd Street Branch
Date: Saturday, November 22, 2025
Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm ET
Location: 18 West 53rd Street, New York
Admission: Free
Book signing with Translator Yuki Tejima at Kinokuniya Bookstore
Date: Monday, November 24, 2025
Time: 6:00-8:00pm ET
Location: 1073 Avenue of the Americas, New York
Admission: Free
More details coming soon.
Screening of Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window feature anime and panel discussion at the Japan Society
Featuring: Yuki Tejima, translator; Alexandra McCullough-Garcia, editor; Nathan Shockey, Associate Professor of Japanese at Bard College
Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Time: Doors 6:00 pm, Screening 7:00 pm ET
Location: 333 E 47th Street, New York
Admission: $16 general admission; $12 students/seniors/persons with disabilities; $8 members
More Info: https://japansociety.org/film/
In conjunction with this exciting release and launch events, we recently had the honor of chatting with Alvin Lu to discuss his literary beginnings, the evolution of Manga in the US, and, of course, the sequel to Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window. So, we are very pleased to welcome the President and CEO of Kodansha USA Publishing, Alvin Lu, to GVN Talking Comics.
Literary and Comic Ambitions
GVN: Thank you so much for giving us a small part of your day, Alvin. Since this is our first opportunity to chat, let’s start with your educational beginnings. As you progressed through your scholarly pursuits, was literature and publishing always an ambition, or did you have other plans at that time?
ALVIN: I was always interested in writing — and I should add, comics in particular. Growing up, and even in college, it wasn’t clear to me how publishing worked as a business, though, or how one went about finding a job in publishing. (Maybe it’s still not clear to me, lol.) I ended up working as a journalist after graduating from college. Doing a story for the local paper on the two local manga publishers (Viz and Studio Proteus, in San
Francisco) introduced me to manga publishing.
Preparing for a New Responsibility
GVN: Before you became president and CEO of Kodansha USA Publishing in 2020, you were general manager of Kodansha Advanced Media. How did that job prepare you for your new position, and did you have any concerns about whether you were ready for that new responsibility?
ALVIN: KAM was a unique opportunity to build a start-up company from the ground up. Its success gave me confidence that I knew how to drive sales—the lifeblood of any business.
Meeting Goals
GVN: Speaking of Kodansha USA Publishing, at the time of your promotion, you were confident in the direction that Kodansha had charted: “The time is right to build on this momentum through the formation of a twenty-first-century global content publisher.” During the following five years, do you feel that those goals have been achieved to this point?
ALVIN: That’s a good quote! I have to say, as much as the business had grown by the time I said that, it’s grown exponentially in the years since then. More than achieving those goals, I’d say we’re ahead of schedule and dealing with the challenges now of manga as a mainstream entertainment silo.
Upcoming Titles for Kodansha
GVN: Kodansha always has new and exciting projects for its fans. Can you provide an overview of Kodansha’s upcoming publishing slate? What new titles or projects excite you the most?
ALVIN: When Attack on Titan came to a conclusion, there was a bit of uncertainty where our next big hit was going to come from, so it’s been exciting to see Blue Lock gaining momentum now — and newer series like Gachiakuta and A Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity. And Witch Hat Atelier is already a big seller for us — but we expect for this one to really break out in the coming years.
How Title Decisions Are Made
GVN: When it comes to selecting new titles, how do you see the latest trends in Japanese culture influencing Kodansha’s publishing decisions, both in manga and prose? Or are there other considerations that drive those decisions?
ALVIN: Here on the U.S. side of operations, we follow Japan’s lead for the creative decision- making. The editorial teams there are Kodansha’s braintrust. So, I can’t speak with authority on how these important decisions are made, but I do know that it’s a big part of a manga editor’s job to keep their ear to the ground on trends and what’s really moving readers – not just now but in the near future. So far that attention has been applied mainly to Japan, but like many things, for obvious reasons, cultural trends are moving increasingly faster across borders and language.
The Commitment to Prose
GVN: Kodansha is well-known for its manga, but you also have a strong commitment to publishing prose. Why is it important for Kodansha to support both forms, and how do you see them complementing each other?
ALVIN: Very much so, although in a way that speaks very specifically to Kodansha’s unique identity as a publisher. Prose works are an important aspect of Kodansha’s foundation, legacy, and mission. Ultimately, it’s less about form than stories — “Inspire Impossible Stories” is our core purpose.
Growing Both Manga and Prose Properties
GVN: As a follow-up, how has the reception of Japanese prose titles compared to the immense popularity of manga in the US market, and what strategies are you using to grow both categories?
ALVIN: I would agree manga qualifies as a unique phenomenon in the North American publishing marketplace. The U.S. in particular has been historically resistant to entertainment and literature in translation—which has proven challenging for Japanese literature with some notable exceptions like Haruki Murakami—but I think people forget when they make this observation that the hottest publishing category in the U.S. the past several years is almost entirely translated—manga.
And the outlook for Japanese literature in a broader sense is definitely changing. Our Tokyo international rights team has been seeing great interest in our novels from U.S. publishers. I think this is part of a broader cultural turn, that includes not just the rise of anime, but popular trends like K-Pop and live-action Asian TV dramas, since streaming and social media have made Asian entertainment—some of the best produced on the planet—more accessible to broader audiences.
Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel
GVN: Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel is a highly anticipated release. What can readers expect from this sequel, and what does it mean for Kodansha to bring this story to an international audience?
ALVIN: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s first book, Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window is a special book for Kodansha and, I’d say, postwar Japanese culture in general. It really defines a certain spirit of the age—how Japan came to see itself in the 1980s, looking back on its rebirth since World War II. At the same time, it communicates something universal: the magic of childhood. Kuroyanagi’s story of her childhood is exactly the kind of “impossible story” that defines Kodansha. So its sequel is something important to us. At the same time it is coming out at a time when the international audience is more attuned to Japanese culture than ever. Its an auspicious moment for English readers to get introduced to Totto-chan.
A Final Message to Kodansha Fans
GVN: Finally, what message would you like to share with readers and fans looking forward to Kodansha’s upcoming releases?
ALVIN: We look forward to sharing our stories and getting to know you better in many ways, on social media and at live events like Kodansha House and our convention events—but of course especially in books. See you there.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
