When Invincible Changed My Brain About Adult Animation
For the longest time, I didn’t think adult animated shows were for me.
Not because they were bad, I just couldn’t get into the animation style. A lot of them looked overly goofy or leaned way too hard into comedy, and I always assumed they were mostly just chaotic humor with a few crude jokes thrown in.
That show completely flipped my expectations of what adult animation could actually do. It told a serious story. It had stakes. It had characters that made you question things. And somehow, the animation made everything hit harder.
After finishing it, I realized something: I might have been ignoring an entire category of shows that are right up my alley.
So I started digging around for other adult animated series worth checking out.
That’s when I found Common Side Effects.
The First Thing That Hooks You
Some shows take a few episodes to get interesting.
Common Side Effects does the opposite.
The premise alone is weird enough to stop you mid-scroll.
The show revolves around a mysterious mushroom that can basically heal almost anything. Not “makes you feel better” heal. We’re talking about curing diseases and injuries that normally shouldn’t be curable.
Naturally, that kind of discovery attracts attention.
A lot of attention.
The story follows Marshall and Frances, two former lab partners who reconnect after Marshall discovers the mushroom and realizes just how powerful it might be.
What starts as a strange scientific discovery quickly turns into something much bigger. Governments, corporations, and powerful organizations all want a piece of this thing.
And suddenly the question isn’t just what does the mushroom do?
It becomes who should control it.
The People Behind the Show
Whenever I discover a new show, one of the first things I look at is who’s behind it.
And Common Side Effects has a pretty impressive lineup.
The series airs on Adult Swim, which already has a long history of strange and experimental animated shows.
It was created by Joe Bennett and Steve Hely.
If those names sound familiar, it’s because they’ve worked on some pretty well-known projects before. The Office, 30 Rock, and American Dad just to name a few.
The show also has Greg Daniels (King of the Hill) and Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head) listed as executive producers, which immediately tells you the creative side of this show is in good hands.
And apparently, people are noticing.
The series has already been renewed for a second season, which is always a good sign when you’re deciding whether it’s worth starting a new show.
The Animation Style Is… Different
One thing that stood out to me right away was the animation.
And I say that as someone who used to think adult animation styles all looked the same.
Common Side Effects feels different.
The visuals have this slightly surreal, almost dreamlike quality that fits the tone of the show perfectly.
It’s not trying to look like a traditional cartoon.
But it’s also not chasing ultra-realism either.
Instead it sits somewhere in the middle, stylized enough to feel unique but grounded enough that the characters still feel believable.
The weirdness of the animation actually works in the show’s favor too.
When you’re watching a story about a secret healing mushroom that might change the world, a slightly strange visual style feels appropriate.
Why Original Shows Like This Stand Out
One thing I’m starting to appreciate more as I watch new shows is originality.
Not everything needs to follow the same formula.
Not every show needs to revolve around superheroes, police detectives, or post-apocalyptic survival.
Sometimes the best stories start with a single weird idea.
Like:
“What if someone discovered a mushroom that could heal almost anything?”
From there the show builds an entire world around that concept.
The medical implications.
The ethical debates.
The power struggles that would inevitably follow.
It’s the kind of premise that could easily become ridiculous. Somehow Common Side Effects manages to keep it grounded while still embracing the weirdness.
That balance is hard to pull off.
Adult Animation Is Getting Way More Interesting
Watching shows like Invincible and Common Side Effects made me realize something.
Adult animation is evolving.
For years, a lot of people associated the genre with comedy shows like Family Guy or South Park. Nothing wrong with those AT ALL, I love them both, but they shaped what many viewers expected from animated series aimed at adults.
Now we’re seeing a lot more variety.
Thrillers.
Mysteries.
Character-driven dramas.
Stories that explore complicated ideas without needing to be live-action.
Animation gives creators a lot more freedom visually, and some shows are starting to take full advantage of that.
Which means there are probably a lot more interesting series out there than I originally realized.
The Unexpected Door Invincible Opened
I probably never would have tried Common Side Effects if I hadn’t watched Invincible first.
That show completely changed how I looked at adult animation.
Instead of seeing it as a niche genre or just a comedy format, I started realizing it’s really just another storytelling medium.
And like any medium, it can be used to tell almost any kind of story.
Mysteries.
Thrillers.
Philosophical questions about power and morality.
Or strange conspiracies involving healing mushrooms.
Either way, Invincible opened the door to a category of shows I had mostly ignored before.
And now I’m starting to think there’s a whole lot more weird, original animation out there waiting to be discovered.