Former Dragon Ball Z Composer Nathan Johnson Elected Texas Attorney General
Image by Charlotte DavisTexas’ newly elected attorney general has an unexpected connection to Dragon Ball Z, having previously composed music for 67 episodes and five movies from the hugely popular anime series.
Nathan Johnson won the Texas attorney general election on November 3, but long before entering politics, he worked with FUNimation on the English-language version of Dragon Ball Z during an unusual career that has moved between law, music, and public office.
Johnson is currently a Texas state senator and practicing lawyer, with a legal career dating back to his graduation from the University of Texas School of Law in 1993.
However, his interest in music developed alongside his legal work, eventually leading him to leave a full-time law position and attempt to establish himself professionally as a composer.
Image by Nathan Johnson CampaignHis route into Dragon Ball Z happened largely by chance after Johnson began looking for an office near his home in Dallas while preparing to return to legal work.
The building he contacted was owned by Robert Cocanougher, one of the co-founders and executives behind FUNimation, with Johnson mentioning during their conversation that he might also keep a keyboard there to continue writing music.
After listening to examples of Johnson’s work, Cocanougher introduced him to FUNimation’s Barry Watson, who was looking for a composer to create a new score for the company’s upcoming Dragon Ball Z release.
Johnson was subsequently hired despite having never previously watched Dragon Ball Z or any other anime, with FUNimation looking for a more orchestral and cinematic sound for its new version of the series.
He went on to provide the music for episodes 1 through 67 of 2005’s “Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Uncut Edition,” which revisited the beginning of Dragon Ball Z with previously removed footage restored and a newly produced English dub.
Johnson also worked on five Dragon Ball Z movies: The World’s Strongest, The Tree of Might, Broly – Second Coming, Fusion Reborn and Wrath of the Dragon.
His work therefore covered stories ranging from some of Goku’s earliest Dragon Ball Z battles through to the appearances of Broly, Gogeta and Tapion, with Johnson even learning to play the ocarina while developing music associated with the latter.
Johnson has since spoken openly about how unfamiliar Dragon Ball initially felt to him, explaining that he gradually had to immerse himself in its characters and stories in order to write music that suited what was happening on screen.
Image by Nathan Johnson CampaignBy the time he began his first campaign for the Texas Senate in 2017, the connection had become an established part of his background, with Johnson acknowledging that younger voters and their families were often particularly surprised to discover his involvement with the anime.
He was elected to the Texas Senate in 2018 and took office the following year, eventually returning to statewide politics as a candidate for attorney general in 2026.
Image by Nathan Johnson CampaignJohnson defeated Republican Mayes Middleton in the November 3 election and will succeed outgoing attorney general Ken Paxton, becoming the first Democrat elected to the position in Texas since 1994.
His election creates one of the more unexpected links between Dragon Ball and US public life, more than two decades after his work helped soundtrack the English-language version watched by a generation of American anime fans.
Image by Nathan Johnson CampaignDragon Ball itself has continued working with major composers decades later, with Toei Animation enlisting Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer to create the music for its official 40th anniversary special video earlier in 2026.
The franchise is also preparing for another major period on television, with Dragon Ball Super: Galactic Patrol currently in production as the anime finally moves beyond the Tournament of Power to adapt the Galactic Patrol Prisoner storyline.
For Johnson, however, the latest chapter of his career takes him considerably further from the recording studio, with the former Dragon Ball Z composer now set to become Texas’ next attorney general.
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