This is nothing I expected from the synopsis. It wasn't a "Memento" ripoff and didn't rely too heavily on "Groundhog's day" or "50 first dates" jokes. Still, this is a basic romcom complete with "meant to be" encounters, misunderstandings, and great chemistry. When it works it's really cute, even touching, but when it doesn't work it's super corny and at times too repetitive. If you're in the mood for a romance, with a small bit of mystery, this one is far from perfect, but I still enjoyed it much more than I didn't.

Choi Jin Hyuk and Song Ha Yoon have amazing chemistry, whether their circumstances are ridiculously silly, or more serious. I admit that Song Ha Yoon as Joo Ki Beum had to grow on me, but Choi Jin Hyuk as Gong Ma Sung is super sexy from the start. It's not just his obvious physical appeal, which is more than enough, but everything from his mischievous smile to his more heartbreaking scenes pretty much solidified any crush I already had on him. Together they made this hot mess of a story HOT, and work much better than it should have.

I think the story tried to be too many things with too many conflicting genre elements (comedy, tragedy, mystery, rivalries...). Amnesia is probably one of the most cliché drama plots already, but this one overcomplicates the story with a cheesy but shocking first episode that reeled me in, but not enough substance in the plot to keep the story interesting for 16 episodes.

I don't think it was the casts' fault at all. The villains were extra villainy, I liked the whole supporting cast (especially cute bromance with Hoya, Joy's poetic alcoholic dad, Ma Sung's sarcastic assistant, and Jun Soo Kyung who was pretty epic in her 2-dimensional evil ajumma role), also Ma Sung is sufficiently shirtless... but about halfway through, the extreme silliness and heartbreaking moments felt too repetitive to hold my attention. It was only my curiosity about how it would end, and my addiction to the main couples chemistry, that kept me watching. The story could have easily been told in 10 episodes or less so there's A LOT of filler. I would have given it a higher rating if it were shorter.

Would I watch this again? Only if I could skip through most of it. Seeing Choi Jin Hyuk is definitely a good motivator to at least revisit certain scenes, but even his self-assured smirk and shower scenes aren't always enough.

I did think the ending was cute, so I am happy I didn't drop it, although I didn't appreciate some of the filler tropes in the final episodes.

Overall, like the cheesy "Goodbye" song in the OST I couldn't help singing along to, I know this show is more of a guilty pleasure than a great drama. There was still enough about it that I liked to say you might like it too. Many romcom fans would probably be willing to sacrifice logic for a romance that makes them smile, and that's definitely what it takes to be a fan of "Devilish Joy".