I cannot remember what website it was where I first discovered World Order, but I believe it was a comedy-based site and I suppose they thought the visual of seven Japanese men in suites performing their unique stop motion dances in public was humorous. That was not the take away I had, I was charmed immediately. They were very talented dancers and the song was excellent, and them performing their art in live in public opened them up to interesting reactions. I liked everything about it. Truly a perfect music video.
When first viewing World Order’s self titled song’s music video, I could not help but notice how much the front man looked familiar to me. After about five minutes I remembered where I had seen him before. He is Genki Sudo, professional mixed martial artist and UFC veteran.
Genki Sudo went two and one in the UFC with his only loss coming by way of a controversial decision to legendary kick boxer Duane Ludwig. If I remember correctly there was a non-sensical stand up due to Ludwig being cut which allowed him to recover and steal the third round. Most fight critics and fans are confident that Sudo’s grappling prowess was so great that there is little debate that Sudo would have surely become the lightweight champion if that weight division had existed in the UFC at that time.
Sudo’s talent as a grappler alone is not what made Sudo so likable, it was his rich personality that endeared him to the whole world. He would break into dance moves during fights, and take extremely high risks with very unorthodox approaches, making him extremely exciting to watch compete. At no point was Sudo just a fighter, obviously he is a very talented musician, singer and dancer, as that is the crux of this whole review, and that really fleshes out Sudo, but there is even more. He has written several books and is arguably something of a philosopher. A simple but important message Sudo shared with the world is “we are all one.” He would carry a flag which contained every flag one earth and in the centre a caption reading “We Are All One.” It is a positive message, a good reminder that each other is all we got.
I believe I have watched every video World Order has ever made and every single one is wonderful. They are all similar insofar, they all involve the World Order group performing their synchronized stop motion like dance in public, typically themed by being set in different major cities around the world. Another common element is Sudo’s message of peace, love and understanding. Naturally World Order’s song arsenal cover many topics, and I only figure it out after looking up the translated lyrics online, but the encouraging mantra of Sudo’s philosophy is persistent through out many of his artistic creations.
As often is the case, there is no love like a first love, and World Order’s first video I saw for their self titled flagship song, “World Order,” has remained my favorite this entire time. It is possibly their catchiest song and they have recorded multiple different versions of it.
The first version I ever heard/saw was this one, where they film in New York city:
World Order in New York:
I was a little surprised to discovery this version of “World Order” absent Genki Sudo... Unfortunately I cannot find this video anymore, so I guess you will have to use your imagination, but I assure it is real.
Apparently Sudo left World Order as an active member of the group in late 2015, though he continued to operate as the group’s producer and manager. I do not know if this was done to free up some of Sudo’s time to focus on other projects, like writing books or his solo music career. I guess I was not paying very good attention because Genki is now back in World Order, just in time for a song about Donald Trump.
Let's Start WW3:
When we recall Genki Sudo’s mantra of “we are all one,” it makes sense that the men of World Order would find concern with Trump’s statements about always putting America first. Then again Trump seems like the easiest target in the whole world right, so I am not entirely sure of the meaningful depth of this new song. But hey, Genki Sudo is back, that is worth getting excited about.
While I do consume huge amount of Japanese content, I do not follow J-Pop, and I cannot say I have a good working knowledge of Japanese music. With that in mind, I am unaware of anything, anywhere in the world that is quite like World Order. I love Genki Sudo, he is a just an amazing guy who had led an incredible life. I love World Order, they are unlike anything else I have ever experienced.
- King of Braves
P.S. We are all one:
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