I've never been a big fan of Google's Chrome web browser but some recent aesthetic developments have begun to mitigate my browser apathy...

Now, there are individuals far more active and knowledgeable in the browser game than myself, most of which can undoubtedly argue in either favor or disdain of Google's fairly recent attempt to relinquish Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer's unyielding grip on the world's browsing habits. When Chrome was first released some years ago, I had little reason to convert from Firefox and, because of that, didn't contribute to the discourse. And with the new and improved Firefox 3 finding its way onto my hard drive relatively soon thereafter, a double take wasn't even in question.

Until yesterday. Google, in their infernal goal to create the most powerful beast on the internet, released some themes (yes, THEMES) for their browser brainchild. Back in the day, I remember AOL's similar haphazard attempt to foster a sense of individuality in their users by providing the ability to have a friendly little sunset greet you with every launch of the program. So I wasn't exactly looking forward to Chrome's 50 Cent and Puppy Dog facades to plaster on my only window of escape from society's proliferation of...50 cent and puppies. But apparently, Google knows their stuff (being the largest public search engine, they tend to do that).

They've included a collection of Chrome themes from enigmatically labeled "artists", some of whom centered their contributions on otaku pursuits. A K-ON! theme, Miku Hatsune theme, Bayonetta theme, and Good Smile Company Nendoroid theme were all made available for the most recent version of the Chrome Browser and can be seen here. All of these series are expectedly mainstream but their inclusion opens the door to more otaku approved themes in the future, a prospect we can all warm-up to. So, for the time being, I've learned to embrace my tool status as a Chrome user. Maybe you can find it in your heart to do the same.

Update (October 9th, 2009):Danny Choo, through his innumerable industry connections, has posted an article detailing what exactly went on behind the scenes of these new Google Chrome themes. His post can be found here