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Texas' new AG had a previous career composing music for 'Dragon Ball Z'
While the term “anime” has only become popular in the United States in recent years, the actual art form has been popular far longer, as Toonami — the adult-oriented anime television programming block on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” — has been syndicating the genre on American airwaves for 25 years now. And long before the likes of Naruto and One Piece, there was Dragon Ball Z.
Other than Pokémon — the undisputed Ozymandias, the king-of-kings of Japanese anime that’s crossed over into American culture — Dragon Ball Z is arguably the most popular anime franchise in American history.
Nathan Johnson, the Democratic candidate who was elected Attorney General of Texas this week, has a surprisingly unique connection to that pop culture phenomenon, as he previously worked as a composer on the iconic anime series, composing 67 episodes and five movies within the franchise.
Newly elected Texas Attorney General Nathan Johnson previously composed music for 67 episodes of the hit anime series Dragon Ball Z
Johnson’s stretch as DBZ’s composer overlaps with numerous iconic episodes in the series, such as the original showdown between Goku and Vegeta, Vegeta’s aforementioned ‘It’s Over 9000!’ moment, the anti-heroic Piccolo sacrificing himself to save Gohan, Goku sacrificing himself to defeat Raditz, and Goku arriving on Namek and defeating Recoome.
WAIT you’re telling me the dude who composed the Super Gogeta theme is now the Texas Attorney General wtf ✌️😭 https://t.co/oq0ODULKXs
— SLO (@SLOplays) November 4, 2026
Johnson, a classically trained pianist, worked on the English-language dub of Dragon Ball Z for Funimation in the early 2000s, specifically composing music for the series’ first 67 episodes.
In addition to the flagship television series, Johnson also contributed music to five Dragon Ball Z films, including The Tree of Might, Broly – Second Coming, Fusion Reborn, and Wrath of the Dragon.
Following his election victory, Johnson’s previous work on Dragon Ball Z has resurfaced on social media.
“If you grew up watching Dragon Ball Z, you might know me better than you think: I composed the musical scores for 67 episodes and five movies and had a great time doing it,” Johnson wrote in a Facebook post.
Johnson, a classically trained pianist, worked on the English-language dub of Dragon Ball Z for Funimation in the early 2000s, specifically composing music for the series’ first 67 episodes. In addition to the flagship television series, Johnson also contributed music to five Dragon Ball Z films, including The Tree of Might, Broly – Second Coming, Fusion Reborn, and Wrath of the Dragon.
During a recent interview, Johnson explained that composing music for Dragon Ball Z was a particularly enjoyable experience and helped him earn some credibility with his children and their friends.
“I wrote the musical scores, wall to wall, of 67 episodes of Dragon Ball Z and five of the movies. I had a one-year-old at the time, and I remember him sitting on my knee and stuff blowing up. He’s like, ‘Oh, Daddy Goku!’ He thought it was super cool. It gave me a creative outlet and a cultural connection that very few people have had the opportunity to have,” Johnson explained to Texas Sen. Taylor Rehmet back in June.
Johnson eventually returned to practicing law and entered politics, winning election to the Texas Senate in 2018 and taking office in 2019.
On Tuesday, Johnson defeated Middleton in a major upset, becoming the first Democrat to win the Texas Attorney General’s office in more than three decades. According to election results reported Wednesday morning, Johnson received approximately 52% of the vote compared to Middleton’s 46%, becoming the first Democrat elected Attorney General of Texas since 1994.