I've been growing Ichiban eggplants for a few years, and I adore them. The eggplant fruit have been uniformly thin, near the neck, bulging somewhat towards the flower end. Sort of vase-like. Or thick in the middle and tapering to each end. But this year, I have three plants, all doing beautifully BTW, about 3-4 feet tall so far, and they are ALL producing fruit that is perfectly cylindrical. Like sausages. That is, the neck and the flower end are the same diameter. These cylindrical eggplants are actually easier to use, because they slice more uniformly. What's going on? Does everyone else usually get cylindrical Ichibans, and I've just been odd man out? I can understand that fruit can look different, even from the same plant, but these are ALL the same.