Fans of shonen manga have long been used to stories peppered with lengthy expository sequences. Being a written medium, these narratives are expected and often necessary to explain the non-animated action.
However, when these stories make the jump to the television screen a problem arises. One issue of a manga isn't nearly long enough to equate a script for one episode of a TV show. What's the solution?
Quite often, it's to expand the expository sequences. Stretching out the expogab fills time and saves on the animation budget since real action sequences tend not to happen during such rambles.
Surely enough, it worked! Yu-Gi-Oh was born, the first "action" series where nothing resembling action took place. Talk could indeed replace action and many audience members couldn't tell the difference.
From there, it's only a matter of time. Over the next several years, the talk will increase and the animation will slowly decrease, desensitizing the audience until the ultimate goal is acheived...
Viewers will watch a program consisting only of a still frame of Lou Ferrigno, while a voice-over reads the dictionary. It will be mankind's most successful television program ever.