I'm a part of the prototype anime fandom generation, back when private video rental stores had small anime sections on VHS and laserdisc, before Blockbuster Video came along and put those mom & pop stores out of business. Sometimes we'd watch Nth generation VHS copies of raw episodes recorded off of Japanese TV, following along with an episode synopsis guide form magazines like Protoculture Addicts and Animag, or printed from a file downloaded from a BBS.
That said, one of my favorites is Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. It's based off of Jules Verne's 2000 Leagues Under the Sea, but with a steampunk/space opera twist and gets bigger and bigger. It involves a little bit of stuff like "The Bible says that this happened, but this is what actually happened" in order to further plot developments, like Adam &Eve being created by offworlders, etc. It's nothing really blasphemous and doesn't get annoying and grotesque like Gainax's next series, Evangelion. Nadia is way better than Eva.
I remember way back when Kiki's Delivery Service was first introduced to the USA, and Christian watchdog groups were upset about a story involvining a witch. I'd already seen the movie many times via a fansub VHS I owned. The whole moral to the story is to use the talents that God gives us, lest they go to waste. I assume those Christians opposed to this movie hadn't even watched it to know the plot. As with all of us, God wants us to use the talents he has given us to bless others and to not stagnate. In the movie, Kiki learns this lesson and her mentor even tells her such.
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