If you love growing your own Cubensis mushrooms at home, loathe Big Pharma, and appreciate a solid dose of trippy animation, Common Side Effects is the show you’ve been waiting for. This Adult Swim original is a surreal, paranoid, and straight-up exhilarating journey into the world of mushrooms, government conspiracies, and the age-old battle between natural medicine and corporate greed.

The Premise: A Magic Mushroom with Infinite Possibilities

Marshall Cuso, a researcher with a deep scientific curiosity, stumbles upon what every mycologist dreams of: a Peruvian mushroom with the power to cure any ailment. Not just a placebo effect, not just a mild immune booster—this thing works. Naturally, this discovery sets off alarm bells for the pharmaceutical industry, which makes its billions keeping people on a lifetime of overpriced meds instead of actually healing them.

As soon as word gets out, the government and Big Pharma come knocking, ready to bury the discovery and silence anyone connected to it. What follows is a gripping, often hilarious, and sometimes unsettling dive into a world of secret agendas, black market science, and the desperate fight to protect nature’s greatest medicine.

The Mushroom Cultivator’s Dream Show

If you’ve ever stared at your colonizing jars like they were your children or felt a primal thrill watching mushrooms break through the casing layer, this show gets you. The animation perfectly captures the mystique of fungi, blending scientific realism with trippy, exaggerated visuals that make you feel like you’re deep in the middle of a heroic dose. The way Common Side Effects portrays mycology isn’t just accurate—it’s reverential. It treats fungi like the powerful, otherworldly life forms they are, capable of saving humanity if only we’d let them.

And let’s talk about the anti-Pharma energy—because it’s palpable. The show doesn't just suggest that Big Pharma might not have our best interests at heart; it full-on rips them a new one. It’s not even subtle. The entire series plays out like a revenge fantasy for anyone who’s ever been frustrated by the medical system, denied access to natural treatments, or watched a friend suffer because some executive decided life-saving medicine should come with a four-figure price tag.

Animation and Style: A Psychedelic Fever Dream

Visually, Common Side Effects is chef’s kiss perfection for anyone who enjoys a little psychedelic aesthetic. Think Rick and Morty meets Akira, but with a healthy dose of nature-worship and fungal freakiness. The animation style shifts when things get weird—mimicking the sensation of a trip in ways that are sometimes fun, sometimes disturbing, but always mesmerizing. The mushroom sequences, in particular, are pure eye candy for any psychonaut. You’ll want to rewatch just to catch all the tiny fungal details baked into the backgrounds.

Why Every Home Mycologist Should Watch This

Let’s be real—there aren’t many shows out there catering to the underground world of homegrown mycology. Common Side Effects isn’t just a great animated series; it’s a love letter to the people who understand that fungi aren’t just decomposers—they’re healers, connectors, and maybe even the key to something bigger than we can comprehend.

This show speaks to that instinctual feeling every cultivator gets when they first realize what mushrooms are capable of. The way they communicate, their intelligence, their ability to adapt and survive—it’s all woven into the narrative. And the best part? It does this without shoving it down your throat. The story flows, blending science, conspiracy, and humor in a way that never feels preachy but still leaves you thinking long after the credits roll.

Final Thoughts

If you love fungi, distrust corporations, and want to see a beautifully animated, mind-bending story that just gets it, Common Side Effects is a must-watch. It’s a rare gem that celebrates the underdog—the home cultivator, the independent researcher, the person willing to look past mainstream narratives to find the real truth.

So, fire up your favorite episode, let your monotub do its thing, and enjoy a show that feels like it was made for us.

You can watch it on Prime

https://www.primevideo.com/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.186a1df2-4420-4d66-952b-feb70d287212 <

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