My guess is it was a trend started by Jump animes, trying to plug up as much running time to fill a half-hour time slot while not messing with the pacing of the actual show material. And then, since that's the way it was done, shows started competing over having the best intro, leading to really fucking bangers that no one really wants to do away with, and now we're here.
Anime intro at the start of a new season: who tf are all these random new characters?!
Anime intro halfway through the season: Leo pointing meme at all my new favorite characters.
Next episode: Ah shit new intro with more new characters.
Why do Anime intros always have to be a full-length pop song? I came to watch the story, not a music video.
My guess is it was a trend started by Jump animes, trying to plug up as much running time to fill a half-hour time slot while not messing with the pacing of the actual show material. And then, since that's the way it was done, shows started competing over having the best intro, leading to really fucking bangers that no one really wants to do away with, and now we're here.