Obito Uchiha is a fan-favorite villain in Naruto. In a unique twist of events, Obito wound up being one of the franchise's most inspiring heroes as well as one of its most sympathetic villains. His story is not only tragically compelling, filled with mesmerizing feats of strength, but his surprise role in the conflict shakes up the plot and the characters who know him best. With the way Obito's tied to the morals and conflicts of the series, he's a well-developed character, but there are still some holes in Obito's story.
On the surface, Obito's growth and motivations are clear. He grew up lonely and struggled to keep up with his classmates, but dreamed of becoming a Hokage, just like Naruto Uzumaki. After his presumed death during the Third Great Ninja World War, his dreams were shattered by his unrelentingly cruel and unforgiving reality. Many fans understand that this pushed him to start the Fourth Great War to force the world under the Infinite Tsukuyomi. However, many details are absent from Obito's personality and his past and they could have improved his character and Naruto as a whole.
Obito's Missing Details
At a glance, fans can understand adult Obito's negative perspective on the world because of how heartwrenching Rin's loss was for his character. Rin's death is a catalyst that sends Obito spiraling down a path of villainy, but the extremes that Obito takes to achieve his goals don't truly add up because of the missing details from his past. As wholesome as Obito's relationship with Rin is, the argument that Rin was all he had just doesn't make sense. Before the Third World War began, Obito appeared to have a fairly decent childhood despite how he described it.
Scenes between Obito and Rin make it appear like Rin is the only person who even remotely cared for Obito and he certainly feels that way as well. Granted, this is to equate Obito with Naruto when he was just beginning his ninja career, but it doesn't change the fact that Obito's family was alive and well during his childhood. The series never delves into Obito's relationship with the Uchiha clan but from what fans already know about the clan it's hard to believe that Obito was truly alone in the world.
Obito's Strained Relationship With The Uchiha
Naruto's Uchiha clan is a proud family with a deep, complicated history. While some ninjas throughout the series have focused on the negative culture surrounding this family, they unquestionably have a deep sense of love for each other. Love is literally what gives them strength and powers their most fearsome ability; the Sharingan. Even with the horror stories surrounding the clan, the family's culture is caring. Before the massacre of the Uchiha, young Sasuke was fairly close to an older Uchiha couple who kept up with his growth and were very friendly with him even though they weren't close relatives. Given the clan's size, it's hard to believe no one reached out to Obito. If, in fact, Obito was neglected by his clan, there must be a reason for it, though probably not a wholesome one.
Naruto's scenes featuring Obito's childhood are so brief it's hard to make any concrete theories, but with how important the Uchiha clan is to the show's plot, the series would have benefitted from more lore and history in this area. Obito could have had any other family name and it would have made no difference to his story, but the lack of details on such an important clan is a missed opportunity. By not giving viewers a window into Obito's past, Naruto missed the chance to provide real motives for his actions. While fans have always known he lost his parents and was raised by his grandmother, he was always part of a loving family. His "crybaby ninja" identity never truly made sense and his decision to endanger the world felt like a contrivance.
Obito's Forgotten Family
Before Obito even meets Rin, he has his Grandmother who looks after him. They have a loving and supportive relationship, so saying that Obito is motivated by his loneliness doesn't entirely make sense, or at the very least, it feels like Naruto himself should feel more lost and alone than Obito. If there'd been any hint in the manga or anime that his clan had disowned him then his desire to connect with and be acknowledged by others would be that much more meaningful.
When Obito is recovering from his wounds from the Kannagi Bridge mission, he's driven to return to his teammates but he never mentions his Grandmother or his clan. Despite being a supposedly proud member of the Uchiha, Obito seems to have no emotional attachments to any individual member of his clan, even his loving Grandma. Perhaps this is beside the point since Obito winds up seeing no value in reality because of the pain he's endured when he lost the people closest to him, and Madara's manipulation pushed Obito to change in the worst of ways. However, it is strange to overlook the one person who cared so deeply for him unless there is more to that story.
The various holes in Obito's background have always made fans feel like they were missing key elements of his story. His pain from loneliness and loss never made sense, but looking at his past he had people and possibilities in his life that Obito himself overlooked. There may be a reason that details like his relationship with his Grandma and the Uchiha clan are treated as insignificant, but fans will never know. Revealing more about Uchiha clan culture and history could have also enhanced his story. To be fair, Obito is still a good character, but without these significant details in his backstory, fans have been left speculating about his attempt to essentially end the world. It's a big move that requires a substantial motive; the fact that fans never really got to understand Obito did a surprising amount of damage to the Naruto franchise.