It's that time of year again. As March approaches, Vocaloid fans everywhere know to be on the look out for 39's Giving Day. 39's Giving Day, a play on words (since 3 is san and 9 is kyu in Japanese it sounds like "Thank You"), is the annual Vocaloid concert held in Japan using 3D technology. This year's event is extra special though.

This year is the final 39's Giving Day concert and as it's name suggests it will be held on March 9, 2012. But if that isn't enough, Hatsune Miku Live Party 2012 (also called MIKUPA for short) is on March 8 this year, meaning two days of back to back Vocaloid events. While tickets to watch both events live may be gone already, Nico Nico Douga and it's English counterpart, NicoNico, are streaming both concerts. Each concert will set you back about $25 and can be viewed any time between when it airs live and March 16, 2012. If you purchase a ticket to watch both it will only cost you $40.

Nico Nico Douga will be streaming the first episode of the English dub of the hit anime, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica next week. The first episode is scheduled to air Friday, February 10, 2012 at 11:30 PM EST on the Nico Nico Live program. Fans who live in Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand will be able to tune in to watch. After the episode there will be a special segment with three of the English voices behind the characters.

English speaking viewers can watch the stream on Aniplex USA's NicoNico channel.

Source: [Presepe] via [ANN]

UPDATE: Added link to stream.

Aniplex and niwango Inc. (famous for their Nico Nico Douga video sharing site) made a joint statement yesterday announcing the simulcast of Fate/Zero. Each episode of the series will stream on Nico directly after it finishes airing in Japan. The first episode streams starting on Sunday Oct 2, 2011 at 1 AM JST (Saturday October 1, 2011 at 12 noon EST) and then each of the following episodes will be available Sundays at 12:30 AM JST (Saturdays at 11:30 AM EST).

The series is a prequel to Fate/Stay Night and tells the untold story of the Fourth Holy Grail War in which both Shirou and Rin's  fathers participated.

Each episode will be available for a week after it airs on television in eight languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and French. You can catch the stream on their website if you have an account.

Bad Apple (Oh, was that a reference to a reference in my metadata about a reference?) references aside, it's true we live in a world where Apps are the bees knees.  Niwango's Seiji Sugimoto announced at Sony's pre-TGS press conference yesterday that the popular Japanese video sharing site, Nico Nico Douga, would be available for the PlayStation Vita as an app.

According to Sugimoto the development team working on the project, will make full use of the Vita's hardware which includes a touch screen, 3G connectivity and cameras. The app will be available for the launch of the new handheld, which is currently scheduled for December 17 in Japan. Unfortunately you'll only be able to view videos at first. They plan to roll out full features including live streaming by the summer.

Now what are the odds that us gaijin will be able to use this app to watch Bad Apple remixes here in the States?

Source: [Destructoid]

Popular Japanese video sharing site, Nico Nico Douga, has recently come out with an English version of their website. The website enables users to utilize all the features of its Japanese counterpart while being in English. Though the site is still at beta stage, users can share videos from popular video sharing sites Dailymotion, Youtube, and Nico Nico Douga to use with Nico Nico Douga’s unique interface. Users who have signed up for accounts on the Japanese website can also use their account on the English site. Even though the website is still in beta, live broadcasts of events are already beginning.

I feel that the website will have a promising future. Can’t wait to see the future developments and improvements they make.

Shout outs to all the OKKUSENMAN lovers!

Fans of the uber-popular group, VAMPS, rejoice! They're coming to New York this Fall. But wait, there's more! If you can't afford to see them live, they'll be performing a free concert that everyone can stream live! See more details after the jump.