When Mappa is doing this well with JJK and clearly the numbers back them up. It shouldn't come across as more of a shock. This kind of stuff has been more a thing with S2 more so then S1 from what I recall.
Hell they went way harder on that Nanami Haruta scene then they needed to.
The noticeable uptick of vocal female fans across social media and even something as basic as CR comment section tells you all you need to know. Having 2 teenage daughters has shown me sides of the community I never would have known existed before and these women are very pleased with the direction.