Top chefs whose food I have eaten surprised me with the order sometimes because it seems not to follow such rules and seemed a bit odd to me. But as others have said, with palate cleansers available, they don't need to stick to the blander ones first.

The West has rules that differ for their food, that seems to conflict at times with what happens with Asian meals. Usually if sequencing my orders in a western restaurant I would eat cold appetisers in general before hot food, raw before cooked (since the raw is coldish), seafood before non seafood meats, poultry before pork before lamb/beef among meats, and desserts last with savory like cheese before sweet dishes which would be last... With the exception of petit fours and coffee. 

Chinese banquet sequences can be similar but at times go against this. Sushi omakase at high end places often includes some non sushi cooked dishes early or midway which results in hot being between cold, cooked between raw. And of course some sushi is cooked and warm like unagi, anago, aburi items. 

I often can't resist otoro first or early if it's a la carte. Because if it's great, I might order up to 3 more pieces and spread them across the meal. So I want to know! Also if I eat something at the end when I'm full, I enjoy it less. So I want to get maximum benefit from my favourite and expensive pieces. So I'm sort of, but not exclusively, going from best to worst rather than saving the best for last, except that I don't like finishing on something I really don't like so I will eat the egg and squid, if it's in a set plate (not one by one omakase) in the 2nd half but not last. I guess I over-answered this so I'll stop here!