This thread prompted me to order a Masahiro VC 180 and see how I feel about gyutos of this size. After a about a week with the knife, I can say that it's a size that I could get used to for daily tasks. I've got three small kids and often find myself making an early meal and late meal, and cutting small amounts of fruit/veggies for snacks. I've been mainly using a 165mm petty/mini gyuto for those tasks and the bit of extra length is nice. It's large enough to handle a few potatoes or carrots without thinking that I "need" something bigger.
A little more length would be nice - a 195 Mabs may be my next purchase.
A few comments on the Masahiro specifically. At $105, it's at a lower price point than most knives discussed here. So, it's not a surprise that there are a lot of sharp edges: spine, choil, handle. The spine and choil were particularly uncomfortable and I almost immediately took the knife out to the garage to soften those up a bit. Unfortunately, with it being a monosteel knife, that was a lot more work than the Tosa project knives that I worked on previously.
The knife also came with a substantial righty bias. No big deal, I'm right handed, but there was some steering that I felt I needed to adapt to. Over time, I'll probably shift it to a more 50/50 bevel.
This is the thickest knife BTE that I've purchased since joining the forums. Even after a full sharpening, the BTE thickness was noticeable (but it still cuts substantially better than my old Zwilling santoku). I think the knife could use some real thinning, but that's going to be a chore on a monosteel knife I fear.
Overall, I'm glad that I tried the knife. It's a good size for me, the steel is nice to sharpen, it's not too reactive, and it's nice to try a western handled knife in good steel. There are some drawbacks, but for the price, it's still a great value over a higher priced Wusthof.