A classically trained pianist wrote the music for 67 ‘Dragon Ball Z’ episodes for Funimation, and this week Texas elected him attorney general

Nathan Johnson won the race for Texas attorney general this week, defeating Republican Mayes Middleton. While his new role involves legal responsibilities, many people are discovering his unexpected background as a composer for the hit series Dragon Ball Z, as reported by BroBible.

Johnson worked on the English language dub of the show for Funimation during the early 2000s. As a classically trained pianist, he contributed music to the first 67 episodes of the series.

His tenure included several major moments in the show, like the original fight between Goku and Vegeta, Vegeta’s famous “It’s Over 9000” moment, and scenes involving Piccolo and Gohan. He also composed music for five films within the franchise, including The Tree of Might, Broly: Second Coming, Fusion Reborn, and Wrath of the Dragon.

Not the usual path to attorney general

His past work gained attention on social media following his election victory. Back in June, Johnson wrote in a post on X, “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.”

In a conversation with Texas Sen. Taylor Rehmet, Johnson said the experience provided him with a unique creative outlet. He said he was raising a young child at the time he worked on the show.

“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,” Johnson said. “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.”

After his career in music, Johnson moved into the legal field and eventually entered politics. He won election to the Texas Senate in 2018 and began his term in 2019.

This week, he beat Middleton with about 52% of the vote to Middleton’s 46%, making him the first Democrat elected Texas attorney general since 1994. The upset came on a night of Republican midterm losses, with Trump blaming Fox News for the results afterward.

Dragon Ball Z remains one of the most popular anime franchises in American history. It has been a significant part of the culture for a long time, especially through the Toonami programming block on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, which has aired anime on American television for 25 years.