Honestly, if you’ve spent more than five minutes in the Star Wars fandom, you know that the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi isn't just another plot point. It is the plot point. People call it "Obikin" in the fanfic corners, or just "the greatest tragedy in cinema" in the mainstream ones. But why does it still hit so hard decades later?
It’s about the messy, complicated, and frankly devastating ways two people can love each other and still destroy everything they touch.
The "Brotherhood" That Wasn't Always Brotherly
Most casual fans think they were just best friends who fell out over a girl and some lava. It’s way more tangled than that. When they first met, Obi-Wan was a twenty-five-year-old who had just watched his own father figure, Qui-Gon Jinn, get sliced in half. He didn't even want to train Anakin at first. He did it because of a deathbed promise.
That’s a heavy way to start a relationship.
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You’ve got an grieving, inexperienced teacher and a traumatized former slave who is "too old" by Jedi standards. In Attack of the Clones, Anakin literally tells Padmé that Obi-Wan is "like a father" to him. But by the time the Clone Wars really get going, that dynamic shifts. They’re side-by-side in the trenches. They’re saving each other's lives every Tuesday.
The age gap is only sixteen years. As Anakin grows up, he stops looking for a dad and starts looking for an equal. But the Jedi Code doesn't really have a category for "ride or die best friend who I’m slightly codependent with."
Why the Anakin x Obi Wan Dynamic Drives Fan Fiction
If you look at Archive of Our Own (AO3), the "Anakin Skywalker/Obi-Wan Kenobi" tag is a behemoth. It’s consistently one of the most popular pairings in the entire franchise. Some people see it as a romantic "what if," while others are obsessed with the "Star-Crossed" nature of their loyalty.
There's this specific tension in the Prequels—a sort of repressed intensity. You see it in the way they look at each other.
- The "Look" on Mustafar: When Obi-Wan screams, "I loved you," he isn't using the past tense for a casual coworker.
- The "Brotherhood" Novel: Mike Chen’s 2022 book Brotherhood went deep into this, showing how they had to learn to trust each other as men, not just as Master and Padawan.
- The Silence: Some of the best scenes are the ones where they don't say anything, like the elevator ride in Revenge of the Sith.
Fans latched onto this because it’s a story about the failure of communication. Anakin felt like he couldn't tell Obi-Wan about his marriage because he didn't want to lose his respect. Obi-Wan probably already knew (or at least suspected), but he didn't bring it up because he wanted to give Anakin space. They both tried to be "good Jedi" and, in doing so, they lost the person they cared about most.
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What the Experts Say (Literally)
Psychologists have actually studied this. No, really. Dr. Travis Langley, a psychologist who profiles fictional characters, has pointed out that Obi-Wan suffers from massive survivor's guilt. He views his life through the lens of being a Jedi first and a person second.
Anakin is the opposite. He’s all person. All emotion.
Some researchers have even suggested that Anakin exhibits traits of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), specifically his "efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment." When he feels Obi-Wan is pulling away or "turning Padmé against him," he snaps. It’s a classic case of an anxious attachment style meeting an avoidant one.
The Rematch: Why the 2022 Series Changed Everything
For years, we only had the Mustafar duel and the "Death Star" duel. Then the Obi-Wan Kenobi series happened.
That finale changed the Anakin x Obi Wan legacy forever. When the mask breaks and we see half of Hayden Christensen’s face and hear that distorted voice, it’s the first time Obi-Wan realizes that his friend is truly gone—or at least, that's what he tells himself to survive.
He apologizes. "I'm sorry, Anakin. For all of it."
And Vader’s response? "I am not your failure, Obi-Wan."
It’s a moment of twisted mercy. Vader is basically saying, "I chose this, so you don't have to carry the guilt." But we know Obi-Wan carries it anyway. He carries it all the way to a hut in the desert where he grows old waiting for Anakin's son to grow up.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Writers
If you're looking to dive deeper into this bond—whether you're writing your own stories or just want to understand the lore better—keep these things in mind:
- Watch the Clone Wars (Season 4-7): This is where the "Brother" dynamic is actually built. Without these episodes, the fall in Episode III feels too fast.
- Read "Brotherhood" by Mike Chen: It’s basically the gold standard for understanding how they transitioned from the bickering of Episode II to the partnership of the war.
- Analyze the Fighting Styles: Obi-Wan uses Soresu (the ultimate defense). Anakin uses Djem So (aggressive power). Their fight on Mustafar is a stalemate because Obi-Wan knows every move Anakin is going to make before he makes it. It’s a dance of two people who know each other better than they know themselves.
- Look for the Parallels: Notice how often Anakin mimics Obi-Wan’s sarcasm, or how Obi-Wan starts taking risks that feel very "Anakin-ish" later in the war.
The tragedy isn't that they hated each other. The tragedy is that they loved each other, and in the Star Wars universe, love is the one thing the Jedi weren't supposed to know what to do with.
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To really get why this ship and this friendship still dominate the conversation, you have to look at the "what ifs." What if Obi-Wan had just hugged him? What if he’d said, "Hey, I know you're married, and it’s okay"? We're still talking about it because we're all still hoping for a different ending.
Stop looking at them as just "good guy" and "bad guy." They were two people caught in a system that didn't allow for the kind of connection they had. That’s why, in 2026, we’re still hitting "refresh" on those fanfic tags.