It's true, the knives are definitely not same-knife-different-steel deals and if you look at the kurouchi versus damascus lines (and, I suppose the regular kasumi/clad line) they are also different.
I actually like the way the 240 VG10 gyuto feels better than the 240 blue. There's a slight difference in balance that makes the VG10 one feel just a bit more nimble for me.
Unfortunately there's no way to get a sense of these differences looking online without any prior experience with them.
With regards to reactivity, no issues with the food, but yes, I think the cladding itself turns color pretty quickly. Had my wife worried about the damascus santoku after the cladding developed orangey patina on it right in front of her eyes. I checked it out and it wasn't rust, just something in one of the veggies she was prepping that gave it that color.
In comparison to some other knives' cladding, the reactivity is okay. No food discoloration from what I've seen - but if patina on your knife itself isn't your thing, you might go nuts polishing the Tanaka every time you use it
