Two separate quotes from Rogue Planet. I really like the dynamic Obi-Wan and Anakin have going on here! They each have their little moments of praise and acceptance.
First is the bit where they play off each other as Obi-Wan allows himself to say Anakin can be sensible and Anakin snarks back that it's a something thing. To dive a little bit into the language being used, I really do like the use of the word "allows." Is it that Obi-Wan is allowing himself to admit to himself that Anakin is more than just a rowdy child? Is is that Obi-Wan is allowing himself to admit to Anakin something that Anakin could take as a point of pride (which is something Anakin later remarks the Jedi look down upon)?
In either case, the admission seems to be a reward. An honor. Perhaps atypical, either as Obi-Wan or a Jedi, but earned. He's still careful with it, saying Anakin can be sensible, not that he always is, which is something Anakin rightly picks up on with his "sometimes" remark. But it's a sweet little moment of bonding, with Obi-Wan being kind and giving out praise, and I love that Anakin plays along with it. Not too big for his britches just yet.
Then there's the second moment, in which it's Anakin praising Obi-Wan instead. I think Anakin giving out praise on someone's potential racing skills in particular is pretty remarkable, since 1) we know about Anakin's whole podracing thing and how important racing has historically been to him, and 2) the book starts out with Anakin participating in a race and Obi-Wan going on about how he's got all of the illegal race tracks around Coruscant memorized so he can track Anakin down when he inevitably joins one again, which means Anakin is still racing and loving it.
But what makes it really sweet is the comment about confidence, and the fact that Obi-Wan doesn't disagree. Obi-Wan is a master of snark and sarcasm, and the fact that he just...goes along with it rather than trying to say something about Anakin's confidence or puffing himself up is a sweet little moment of indulgence. And perhaps acceptance. At the very least he considers it, and I think that's pretty, well, considerable. Bonus shout out to the fact that Anakin specifically wants to race with Obi-Wan, rather than just doing it on his own. Share the love, share the fun!
I brought the two quotes together for this reason: Just like Obi-Wan praises Anakin by saying he can be sensible, but leaves room for improvement with the can, Anakin praises Obi-Wan by saying he'd be good at racing and is a fast learner, but with room for improvement in terms of confidence. It's nice to see the relationship they've got going on during a normal mission (before everything blows up, anyway) and the banter they get up to. They're friendly! They want what's best for each other! It's a sweet supplement to the higher tension moments we see in the movies.
