I think a lot of what goes on in the cases mentioned in the OP is just the fandom and it's wide spectrum of particular interests struggling to understand each other because tastes are just so different. I think this holds especially true when it comes to at time stark contrast between what Japanese otaku seem to gravitate to and what Western viewers seem to want out of their shows. Believe me I've been there on what seems like both ends of the conversation many times, though my policy has always been that as long as one respects my tastes I make every attempt to try to respect there's. I think that's all anyone can ask of a functional fandom that doesn't want to cannibalize itself really.
What do I mean by cannibalizing? Well I think a good example might be the Mobile Suit Gundam meta-franchise. The problem with it and the source of much misery for myself is that due to the nature of it's various alternate universes and span of 4 decades there have come to be separate factions within the fandom that are always at war regarding the perceived qualities and failings of each particular entry and which ones are better than others and it's all but come to dominate the discourse surrounding the franchise such that it can be really difficult to have a reasonable conversation about it anymore. Thus in the end everyone seems to end up less happy and attacking each other while what ought to matter at least IMO is whether one enjoys the shows or not and that there is plenty of choice. Yet the fandom fights and cannibalizes itself.
I'm sure there are other examples as well, it's something I've definitely noticed has become a whole lot more frequent at least where the internet is concerned.
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Originally Posted by Random32
I think there are at least two major subgroups of anime "otaku," Mecha and Moe. There is definitely overlap, but I'm pretty sure the people who buy Gundam aren't the same as the people who buy K-On.
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You would be surprised judging by the way say something like Newtype Magazine polls tend to go.
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Originally Posted by Triple_R
I agree with erneiz_hyde on the Japanese otaku. Honestly, I think that they're less divided than we non-Japanese anime fans are.
There's plenty of shows with both mecha and moe: Code Geass, NGE, Infinite Stratos, Rinne no Lagrange, etc...
A show like Lagrange almost certainly doesn't get produced unless there's significant overlap between moe fans and mecha fans.
Also consider - One of Ore no Imouto's OPs had a giant robot in it. Haruhi and Kami Nomi have both had shoutouts to the Principality of Zeon of Gundam fame. You wouldn't see this if there wasn't significant overlap between moe fans and mecha fans.
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Yeah it's kind of hard not to notice the overlap at times strange as it can sometimes feel, though I think it's a more recent development that they've started to come closer together yet sometimes one tends to focus more on either mecha or moe and I wonder if maybe that could be a tipping point for some people too that leads to infighting. For example the recent Accel World tended to tip more toward the more typically mecha side of things (things I associate with lots of fighting, strategizing and just general emphasis on the combat and mecha form aspect), while something like the recent Busou Shinki I think tends to tip more towards the moe side of the equation (things I associate with depicting situations of girls being cute). The problem is that both are still likely to attract people that prefer one be focused on more than the other and if it's not...well then...I think that's where we tend to see the sorts of things the OP talks about come into play in discussion.