Yeah, the anime is very close to the manga, and honestly the manga is not that great. It was a concept that likely should have started from the beginning as an anime.
And I agree with Lord Il, it was a breath of fresh air in a fairly stale industry. Oh, Lord Il, if you are looking for something a little unusual you might try Wagaya No Oinarisama (Our Home's Fox Deity), it's a pretty interesting take on harem anime, namely that the female characters (Kuugen and the sentinel, her name escapes me) are entirely non-sexual towards the male lead, and vice versa, they're just perceived to have a relationship, which was kind of funny. Needed to be longer, but I think they ran out of money to properly finish the series. Nonetheless it was enjoyable.