‘Dragon Ball Z’ composer elected in Texas

Long before Texas Democrat Nathan Johnson was elected on Tuesday to be the state’s attorney general, he was a composer for the music on the English dub of the acclaimed anime series Dragon Ball Z.

Johnson won the majority of votes in nearly all of the southern state’s border districts and major cities in his race against Republican Mayes Middleton to become the Lone Star State’s top prosecutor.

“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,” the 58-year-old said in a video posted on Facebook.

Texas State Senator Nathan Johnson speaks in the state senate in Austin on Sept. 3 last year.

Photo: AP

The popular, long-running Japanese anime follows martial artists as they defend Earth from space invaders, monsters and more.

“I had a one-year-old at the time, and I remember him sitting on my knee and stuff blowing up. He was like: ‘Oh, Daddy, Goku,’” Johnson said, naming the show’s lead character. “He just thought it was super cool.”

The work gave him “a creative outlet and a cultural connection that very few people had the opportunity to have,” Johnson said.

According to online database IMDB, Johnson was listed as composer on dozens of episodes between 1990 and 2008. He also worked as a voice actor on Berserk anime films.

A seasoned litigator with degrees in physics and law, Johnson has been a state senator in Texas since 2019.

He will take over the role of attorney general from Republican Ken Paxton, who lost to Democrat James Talarico in the race for a US Senate seat despite US President Donald Trump’s vocal support.