James McGuire is the central client figure in the anime City Hunter: Secret Service, portrayed as a man driven by political ambition and haunted by personal history. He is the presidential candidate for the fictional third-world country of Guinam, a nation suffering under oppressive military rule from which McGuire seeks to liberate his people. His background is that of a former revolutionary and dissident, a past that resulted in his life being stolen from him eighteen years prior to the story's events, during which he was sentenced to rot in jail. Now a free man, his primary motivation is to achieve his dream of becoming president to free his nation from its totalitarian regime. However, his political aspirations are deeply complicated by his personal past, which involves a long-lost daughter named Anna, who works as a secret service agent.

As a father, McGuire's past actions have created a painful rift. Anna was sent to Japan many years ago following the death of her mother, and she harbors a deep resentment toward her father, holding him responsible for the tragedy. This estrangement defines his key relationship in the story. To protect her from the dangers that plague his political life, threats that could jeopardize her career and life, McGuire takes an unorthodox step. He hires the City Hunter, Ryo Saeba, and his partner Kaori to act as secret bodyguards for Anna, who is herself assigned to his protective detail. This sets the plot in motion, as he creates a chain of protection to shield his daughter from enemies he has made through his revolutionary past. Throughout the special, McGuire's development is centered on confronting this past, which endangers his dream and his long-lost daughter. While he is a presidential hopeful, his personal abilities are not combat-oriented; instead, his notable capability lies in his strategic thinking and his willingness to use his resources to hire professionals like Ryo Saeba to manage physical conflicts that arise from his political career.