Which, out of all your favorites, would you be least inclined to recommend to others?

they all come highly recommended. Although most of them might present a challenge for non-weebs.

I guess when it really comes down to it, it would be To Aru. Not that I don't recommend it as much as my other favs but its the one I hesitate the most because next thing I know its a uphill battle to recommend the person to watch it in chronological order instead of release order which they are more inclined to do because its easier which I find annoying as a fan

@epidemia78
Code Geass is too weeb for me.
Steins;Gate is not as weeb as I expected it too be.

@Deknijff
Why do you recommend chronological order? Hardcore fans will kill you for that. I feel the 1st Index arc makes for the best introduction to the franchise, but I don't really care beyond that.

Is Lain more accessible? I ask because I find it interesting since I considered Lain probably the most inaccessible thing I've ever watched. At least as far as anime series go. That's not intended as an inherent negative or criticism of it; it's one of my favorite shows and part of a select club of anime I've given a 10/10 to, but still just straightforward observation that it definitely felt that way. I can imagine many folks being extremely bored, having no patience for it, and no interest in anything it talks about or explores in the way that it does.

@epidemia78
Code Geass is too weeb for me.
Steins;Gate is not as weeb as I expected it too be.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (SZS). It's my favorite anime of all time, but

1. It's a parody/it parodies many other anime, books, etc. It's hard to recommend parody since a lot of the enjoyment depends on actually being familiar with what's being parodied. It's also satirizes or at least references a lot of events, daily life, politicians, and celebrities mostly in Japan, so if you know nothing about any of that then it's an anime you're likely going to have to do a lot of extra research for in order to fully understand. I think that's more a thing for the manga than the anime, but still. Personally, I enjoyed looking into subjects and learning more and more about everything. The official English translated manga would sometimes go out of their way to explain certain things in the back of the manga (which would help with the anime), but later volumes mostly by Kodansha USA started to skimp on those notes, so you really had to start looking into a lot on your own. The anime was finally released legally in English recently and holy moly it came with a whole book of references/notes! All that being said, I don't think I know too many other people who would be happy to do all that extra reading. I love it, and I know other fans exist, but I don't know what their process is. Best for me not to recommend. Additionally, not anime-beginner friendly for sure.

2. It gets wordy. Most of the anime is honestly ranting about society or something that leaves mc in despair while also listing points/examples. I think most people I meet don't like reading THAT much text. They're not against subtitles, but I think they'd call it quits if they saw they'd probably need to pause the anime just to be able to read everything. My mom usually doesn't like subtitles at all, so I know she wouldn't bite.

3. Nowadays, a lot of the content wouldn't fly with most of the people I know. We've got a teacher who frequently attempts to hang himself on screen (they'd probably say "glorification of suicide"), panty flashes, minors in something something sexualized something something, yadda-- there are things that people would tell me I need to do a trigger warning for but honestly I wouldn't even know where to start. I just don't bother recommending it. I think I was able to recommend it to someone asking for black comedy once, but yeah that's about it.

4. Art and animation. Some don't like the art style. Kumeta is great at art that is simple yet beautiful. Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is great example of that. However, I know that many don't understand or appreciate that. They'd see the art in SZS and think it's too simple or something. Additionally, SZS has a unique style of limited animation-- it's one of them Akiyuki Shinbo-directed babies before that post-Madoka budget. Sure, Bakemonogatari has a lot of fans, but SZS doesn't have the whole character development and more conventionally cute girls thing going for it, so it's a little harder to convince people to give it a shot. Some folks wouldn't be down. I can't even convince a lot of people to watch a lot of unique-looking anime in general.

There are probably other reasons too, but yeah it's a hard anime to sell. I'd love for more people to be into it, but...

Many good and thoughtful answers thus far.

I just realized a tiny oversight where I initially neglected to post my own prime candidate in that respect. Although I may have just forgot or was typing other things and didn't feel like it at the time. Anyway, I'm just going to copy/paste my own answer from the other similar thread topic pertaining to recommendations recently started by someone else.

Mine is my love, Koi Kaze.

Reasoning: Because it's a transgressive romance which centers around incest first and foremost and also, kind of secondarily, an age gap relationship. And unlike almost all other anime, it doesn't play it for shock and gag humor like some ecchi and harem series, nor for sexual titillation and pornographic value like hentai which feature it. And in Western film and television even, I rarely see it apart from either similarly used as comedy or occasionally, as grotesque horror among inbred cannibals and similar villains in slasher flicks. It's actually a serious romantic drama and virtually one of a kind in that respect.

Also unlike many anime which utilize the concept, there is no cop-out. It is two biologically-related full-blooded siblings with the exact same biological mother and father. No tricks, bullshit, and playing around with it, like one was adopted, both were adopted, they are stepsiblings with parents who remarried from previous marriages, or even half-siblings with one different parent. Or distant fourth cousin. Full siblings and basically the closest relationship you can get in an immediate family besides parent-child (not genetically), which personally (the parent one) isn't really my thing. Therefore, it would have to be approached by checking one of the most cemented and entrenched, fundamental, longstanding taboos in modern human society and all preconceptions at the door, which many are simply unable and/or unwilling to do as they feel as if it challenges their values and worldview, which some hold sacred. Fortunately for me I do not share those values and don't care about them so I can just enjoy and appreciate this great art with an open mind and heart, just as I initially approached it.

Kara no Kyoukai. It is TYPE-MOON's best series ever and I will forever stand by that but even then, it contains a lot of aspects that not many people will be familiar with regardless of personal anime experiences, such as how it creates symbolism that is designed to not be taken seriously. I'm not really sure if I can recommend a movie series that contains some of the most over-the-top fashion of figurative structures one would ever hope for to someone.

A similar case goes to Revue Starlight. Idol anime as a whole is a big hit-or-miss and Revstar, despite arguably being the best of all of that, is no exception. Again, I'm not sure if I can recommend this to people who have mixed feelings about Idol as a whole.

This goes hand in hand with your 1st point of the show being satire, because satire is not meant to be politically correct.

@Lucifrost Actually yes, you're right that it does go hand in hand. I hesitate to recommend any satire in general as I think of it. I can't quite trust if someone will pick up that something is satire or not these days.

@Swiggy
I see you've also watched Humanity Has Declined.