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The Asians I know, in my family who I forced to watch The Debts with, as well as Asian fans, didn't seem to care, in fact they laughed at the historical bent they took on it.

The only time a cringe is particularly noteworthy (besides the Classics teachers who have to deal with passionate Xenites) are when the show interferes with a major living religion. On Xena, those were Christianity and Hinduism.

Watch the commentaries for Fallen Angel et al. and Tapert says that they specifically took inspiration from Dante and Milton for those arcs, literary Christianity, not Biblical Christianity which runs the risk of offending more. The one-offs like Mary's donkey, David and Goliath, etc. can be specifically passed off because: the characters are not named from their Biblical counterparts, therefore they are not truly them, or Xena participated in bringing those events to pass, but was not responsible for them. Christianity and elements of Christian symbolism and tradition have become so ingrained in secular society that it's doubtful anyone would raise a serious row over any of the pseudo-Christian elements on Xena.

Hinduism was the biggest backlash on account that it is considered extremely sensitive by some sects to depict the gods in any form other than as sacred images. When a god is played by an actor on stage or screen, it automatically adds a human element which is otherwise not present in the religion. Hercules and Xena function on the basis that the gods, no matter what country you're in, function exactly like humans and appear regularly to assist or interact with humans. Hinduism does not acknowledge this and takes it very seriously. In their mind, to have the Hindu gods depicted in the same manner and on the same level as Ares, Thor, and Odin is sacreligious. Offense was also drawn because Xena essentially adds a chapter to the Ramayana by destroying Ravana's son. The liberties taken with expanding the spiritual epic, and the depiction of deities exactly the same as the ancient Greeks, was what got The Way in trouble. Often the only times actors are allowed to play deities in Indian cinema are for enactments of the legends specifically as laid down in the texts for educational purposes. Hell, even I found Xena's one off Hulk-like Kali power-up mildly offensive.

Notice also that the North African episodes focus specifically on Orientalist/Arabian Nights imagery and have absolutely no mention of religion whatsoever.