Oh, I would not recommend the anime series for VoH, not at first - unless you're into low-budget narm overdose. It wasn't really famous, so chances are you won't find it in an anime store anyway. And the director had such a wildly different view from the manga author, it's like they're two different series with completely different characters sharing the same design.
I wholeheartedly recommend the manga, though, which is -really- funny and knows exactly when angst and drama is needed. It's kind of like Discworld, but with less sarcasm and more slapstick.