I'm surprised to see this perspective from you since not to long ago I think you said that it would be better if Rin had only loved Kakashi, but now you're saying she only thought she loved him. Could it be that the scenes of Obito's memories of Rin in the course of this year made you changed your mind about ObiRin?
My mind has always been open to OR, at least in terms of the possibility that it would be confirmed as a parallel of NS. I mean, that's what we have all been expecting Kishimoto was doing, right? But Rin's side of the equation wasn't clear until this chapter. We hadn't seen much in the way of Rin's self-directed interaction with Obito, nor had we been shown just how much she was really like Sakura.
We already knew that Rin's feelings for Kakashi were similar to Sakura's for Sasuke, but thanks to this chapter we now know that her feelings for Obito were also very similar to Sakura's for Naruto. So the possibility that Rin thought she was in love with Kakashi -- just as Sakura has thought she is in love with Sasuke -- as a component of the parallel is now a lot more likely. That's what I meant.
As for Kakashi and Rin, that's just my personal wish / head canon.

I would've been happy if it had turned out that Kakashi had feelings for Rin too, but either wasn't capable or didn't realize it until after Obito was "dead." Kakashi is a much better man than either of his team parallel counterparts. Orochimaru is one of a kind, thankfully, and Sasuke is a much colder, darker, more callous "friend" of his teammates than Kakashi was even at his very worst (at the beginning of the Gaiden).
In terms of the parallels overall, it would have given the dynamic of Team Minato a unique issue -- both boys loving the girl -- without it having to change the ultimate value of the OR/NS parallel.
And no, I still don't like Obito. Yes, he's supposed to be so much like Naruto but I'm sorry... he sickens me. In my view he is the anti-Naruto. Because despite the labored and simplistic comparisons between the two, the fact remains that Naruto had terrible hardships too -- in my opinion much worse hardships than Obito -- and yet Naruto has persevered admirably, always taking the right road, while Obito caved and became a miserable narcissist.
The only thing I like about the Obito / Naruto parallel is that it seems to prove beyond argument that the actual physical presence of the beloved girl, her growing feelings for him, and her continued support throughout his challenges was the key difference in their outcomes.
In Obito's case: Idealistic Boy - Loved Girl = Miserable Narcissist
In Naruto's case: Idealistic Boy + Loved Girl = Hopeful Messiah
Just more fuel to the fire that Sakura will be at Naruto's side by the end.

Edited by KnS, 31 October 2013 - 06:48 AM.